La Jolla, CA June 3, 2011 – The forty-seventh annual Watermelon Drop, Revelle College, UCSD. The annual event, sponsored by Revelle Programming Board and Revelle College Council, will begin at 12 noon, and the UCSD Pep Band will kick off the ceremony as the “Watermelon Queen” drops the watermelon from the top of Urey Hall. To follow, Revelle College will offer event-goers watermelon treats including cake, and, of course, watermelon! Community members are invited to enjoy an afternoon of music, fun, and free refreshments.

The 2011 Watermelon Queen Pageant will be held, Wednesday, June 1st, 11:00am at Revelle Plaza, where the perpetual “Watermelon Queen” title will be passed to this year’s pageant winner. This year’s “Watermelon Queen” will have the honor of dropping the watermelon on Friday, June 3, 2011.

THE OLDEST TRADITION AT UCSD! This event started in 1965 when physics professor Bob Swanson asked this question on an exam: “What would be the terminal velocity of a watermelon dropped from the seventh floor of Urey Hall and how far would it splat?”

*Elizabeth Huller was the first Watermelon Queen.
*The first year’s splat measured 91 feet.
*The terminal velocity of watermelon when it hits the ground is about 112 miles per hour.
*The record for the splat is 167 feet 4 inches.
*This event has had an attendance of over 500 in the past.

Admission is free to the public.

For more information on the Annual Watermelon Drop or Watermelon Queen Pageant please contact Melina Strohman at (858) 534-1580, or via e-mail melina@ucsd.edu.