Kids were terrified that swallowing a watermelon seed would cause a full watermelon plant to grow inside their stomach.
Watermelon seeds are digested like any other food. Even if they survived digestion, they need soil, water, and sunlight to germinate, conditions that don't exist in your stomach. Modern seedless watermelons have made this myth less relevant, but even in past generations with seeded varieties, the stomach's acidic environment and lack of suitable growing conditions made growth impossible.
Reception
Sources
- Snopes: Watermelon Seeds PRIMARY
- Wikipedia: Watermelon REFERENCE
- Verywell Health: Swallowing Seeds REFERENCE