On our grocery shopping this afternoon, we picked up a American (read big!) watermelon today. Obviously, due to its sheer size, no carry bag would hold up so it was on its own at the trunk. It rolled all over to the point that on one of the stops, we almost thought somebody crashed on the rear of our car! Well, not really…the watermelon was playing around the trunk!
Coincidentally, a few minutes ago, my sister, who lives in Japan, forwards an email with an article about the clever square watermelons harvested by Japanese farmers. I remember reading about this a long time ago, but what was different in this forward email was the additional “inferences” about lessons for life from the creative spirit espoused by the Japanese farmers and scientists!
The main lesson is Japanese’s ability to constantly push the limits, taking nothing for granted (never leave an assumption unquestioned!). As far as I can see, this is the core of their success! The rest of their behaviors are a consequence of that fundamental thinking. Another example is Japan’s ability to look for new ways to find energy sources decades ago and its now a new booming export industry for Japan. I am sure their collaborative society will lead to more such innovations before we run out of options in the US!!!
As this graph shows, Japan’s oil consumption remains fairly stable since 1975, and lets not talk about U.S. consumption!
[source : washingtonpost]
Read a more detailed blog about square watermelons here.
