LOOK, DON'T THUMP TO FIND RIPE MELONS

LOOK, DON'T THUMP TO FIND RIPE MELONS

VINCENNES, Ind. (Wireless Flash) -- If you're looking for a ripe watermelon in this sweltering summer heat, don't thump it -- just give it a long, lingering look. According to Purdue University watermelon expert Daniel Egel, the time-honored practice of thumping a watermelon isn't a good gauge of ripeness. His advice for finding a perfect melon is simple: Examine the watermelon rind and look for a faded area near the top. Also, the area between the stripes turns light green when ripe. Egel also says melons with round ends are more likely to be ripe than ones with pointy ends.