[HN Gopher] Why prehistoric herders didn't spit out their waterm...
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       Why prehistoric herders didn't spit out their watermelon seeds
        
       Author : sohkamyung
       Score  : 36 points
       Date   : 2022-11-04 07:03 UTC (2 days ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.smithsonianmag.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.smithsonianmag.com)
        
       | 11235813213455 wrote:
       | I never waste any seed from watermelons or melons, it's crunchy
       | and tastes good
        
       | watwut wrote:
       | I not spitting them either. Seems rude to spit out food while
       | eating anyway.
        
         | kruuuder wrote:
         | Yeah I also swallow bones, gristle and olive stones for that
         | reason.
        
       | mkl wrote:
       | This statement is so dubious I don't know what to make of the
       | rest of the article:
       | 
       | > And now, a team of scientists has sequenced one of the seed's
       | DNA--the oldest-yet genetic code recovered from a plant. The
       | genome reveals the seeds belonged to a 6,000-year-old wild
       | watermelon
       | 
       | Meanwhile, in 2003
       | https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/sediment-cores-yi...
       | said
       | 
       | > Researchers have retrieved from sediment cores plant DNA that
       | is nearly 400,000 years old--the oldest such specimen ever
       | recovered.
       | 
       | and in 2012
       | https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/120221-ol...
       | said
       | 
       | > 32,000-Year-Old Plant Brought Back to Life--Oldest Yet
       | 
       | I'm sure there are other examples too.
        
         | culi wrote:
         | These statements are all consistent.
         | 
         | - oldest plant DNA to be sequenced
         | 
         | - oldest plant DNA to be recovered (though I'm not exactly sure
         | how "recovered" is defined here)
         | 
         | - oldest plant to be brought back to life
        
           | groffee wrote:
           | Consistent but disingenuous.
        
           | canadianfella wrote:
        
         | g_lined wrote:
         | There's a difference between sequencing the genome of DNA,
         | which the article talks about, and retrieving DNA strands
         | intact. The latter is akin to getting the book, the former is
         | akin to reading it. This is likely to account for the
         | discrepancy.
        
       | jfengel wrote:
       | Egusi is still common in West African cuisines. My town near DC
       | has several west African restaurants, and many of them have an
       | egusi stew on the menu. I really like it.
       | 
       | (DC is really well known for its Ethiopian restaurants, which are
       | also excellent. And completely, utterly different from west
       | African cuisine.)
        
         | tdeck wrote:
         | Roasted and seasoned watermelon seeds are also a popular snack
         | in China:
         | 
         | https://www.theworldofchinese.com/2016/09/sowing-the-melon-s...
         | 
         | Personally I've never understood why people spit them out in
         | the US.
        
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       (page generated 2022-11-06 23:00 UTC)