Seven stories later, a stain is all that is left of one of UCSD's oldest traditions.
This year a pair of Watermelon Queens were given the honor of dropping the fruit from the seventh-story balcony of Urey Hall. The sacrificial watermelon gave up its life shortly after noon on Friday, to the delight of the assembled students, faculty and staff.
The university has been breaking tension at the end of the semester -- finals start next week -- for decades by dropping a giant watermelon. After the splat, there's a barbecue, music, games, prizes, cake and, of course, plenty of free watermelon, but not before they measure the splat. The record was set in 1974: 167 feet, 4 inches.
