The exploding watermelon stunt or exploding watermelon challenge involves wrapping

rubber band A rubber band (also known as an elastic band, gum band or lacky band) is a loop of rubber, usually ring or oval shaped, and commonly used to hold multiple objects together. The rubber band was patented in England on March 17, 1845 by Stephen P ...

s around a

watermelon Watermelon (''Citrullus lanatus'') is a flowering plant species of the Cucurbitaceae family and the name of its edible fruit. A scrambling and trailing vine-like plant, it is a highly cultivated fruit worldwide, with more than 1,000 varieti ...

until the pressure of the rubber bands causes the watermelon to explode in a dramatic or spectacular fashion. Though previous video iterations of the event have proved popular, on April 8, 2016, the website ''

BuzzFeed BuzzFeed, Inc. is an American Internet media, news and entertainment company with a focus on digital media. Based in New York City, BuzzFeed was founded in 2006 by Jonah Peretti and John S. Johnson III to focus on tracking viral content. Ken ...

'' streamed the stunt live on

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

BuzzFeed event

The event began around 3 pm ( Eastern United States time).(11 April 2016)
Why BuzzFeed Exploding A Watermelon On Facebook Is Not The Future Of TV
''

International Business Times The ''International Business Times'' is an American online news publication that publishes five national editions in four languages. The publication, sometimes called ''IBTimes'' or ''IBT'', offers news, opinion and editorial commentary on busi ...

'' During the 45-minute stream, the event peaked at over 800,000 live watchers, and the resulting video of the event garnered millions of views.Nashrulla, Tasneem (8 April 2016)
We Blew Up A Watermelon And Everyone Lost Their Freaking Minds
''

'' The event was parodied a few days later on ''

The Tonight Show ''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. The show has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2009 and 201 ...

'';Holub, Christian (14 April 2016)
Jimmy Fallon parodies exploding watermelon video with 'Chicago Melon'
''Entertainment Weekly'' that show had attempted the stunt in September 2015 with

Olivia Wilde Olivia Jane Cockburn ( ; born March 10, 1984), known professionally as Olivia Wilde, is an American actress and filmmaker. She played Thirteen (House), Remy "Thirteen" Hadley on the medical-drama television series ''House (TV series), House'' ( ...

but cut the segment short as it was taking too long.Goldstein, Ian (26 September 2015)
Jimmy Fallon and Olivia Wilde try to make a watermelon explode on The Tonight Show
''Entertainment Weekly'' The event generated discussion of the future of journalism where trivial events can garner significant attention.Rutenburg, Jim (18 April 2016)

''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''Castillo, Michelle (8 April 2006)
The future of TV: 800K watch a watermelon explode
''

CNBC CNBC (formerly Consumer News and Business Channel) is an American basic cable business news channel. It provides business news programming on weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Eastern Time, while broadcasting talk sho ...

''Kleinburg, Scott (!3 April 2016)
What an exploding watermelon teaches us about social media
''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

''(8 April 2016)
7 TV Shows With Fewer Viewers Than BuzzFeed’s Exploding Watermelon Video
''Wired''Hathaway, Jay (8 April 2016)
Welp, the future of Facebook is exploding watermelons
''The Daily Dot''

Challenge origin

The concept of putting rubber bands around a watermelon until it explodes first became popular on the internet as early as at least July 2012, when the stunt was filmed by

The Slow Mo Guys ''The Slow Mo Guys'' is a science and technology entertainment web series from Thame, England, United Kingdom created by Gavin Free, starring himself and Daniel Gruchy. It has been described as the biggest channel for slow motion videos on YouTub ...

with a very high frame-rate camera,Dicker, Ron
Rubber Bands Make Watermelon Explode — From ‘Slow Mo Guys’ (VIDEO)
''

Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...

'' but earlier videos date back at least to 2008.(16 July 2012)
Exploding a Watermelon With Rubber Bands
''Laughing Squid''

BuzzFeed event

Challenge origin

References

See also