When it comes to beating the August heat, there's nothing sweeter and more soothing than eating an entire watermelon. Yes, we said "an entire watermelon," because, on National Watermelon Day, it's practically your civic duty to ingest as much Citrullus Lanatus as humanly possible. Why? Because like strawberries and other heavily-cultivated fruits, watermelons have been so rigorously developed by Farm Science that they're basically unrecognizable compared to whatever humankind found in nature even a few hundred years ago -- and for the better! We've got monster-sized, sweet-as-can-be, seedless melons available in almost every state in the continental United States! Our ancestors basically had to contend with smaller offerings that were 90% rind and seeds. Truly, we are living in a Golden (Red) Age.

Celebrate watermelon -- whichever variety you favor -- today with these seed-spitting comics.

Garfield By Jim Davis Nov 24, 1987

Peanuts By Charles Schulz April 15, 1994

Buni By Ryan Pagelow Aug 19, 2013

Pearls Before Swine By Stephan Pastis June 14, 2009

FoxTrot By Bill Amend July 5, 2002

Cleats By Bill Hinds Aug 6, 2004

Soup to Nutz By Rick Stromoski Aug 3, 2009

Cul de Sac By Richard Thompson July 20, 2008

Brevity By Dan Thompson Mar 17, 2011 

The Born Loser By Art and Chip Sansom Oct 27, 2012

Buni By Ryan Pagelow May 29, 2015