The Coconut

Elisabeth, her friend Samantha, and I stayed home tonight while the boys went to a Pohang Steelers soccer game (they're the best team in Korea).  In looking for something for the girls to do, I hit upon the idea of them opening the waterlogged coconut we found at the beach this afternoon.  It was a memorable event but not in the way I expected.




First they found a brick to hurl at the coconut, but it just bounced off and broke into bits.  Then they tried to use the brick bits to chop up the coconut, but that didn't even dent it.

Then I suggested they throw the coconut down from a higher place, thinking of the boys' 2nd story window.
I had no idea they could get on the roof (about 4 stories up).
Then they decided who would throw it. Samantha won.

The Heave.

The Throw to the road below.

Hm.  No change.

Then I suggested that we cut off the thick, hairy exterior, which I did with a sharp knife - about 2" thick.

Bright orange inside the fibers, then the light brown hull with the three "eyes."  It smelled a bit.

Elisabeth ran up to the roof with it.  And threw it hard, where it hit the very far edge of the sidewalk across the road, just a few feet from Samantha and I.

It exploded into a horrifying, putrid spray that went all over the wall of the next dorm.  We screamed and ran away to escape the stench.  Later we picked up the pieces of shell and whisked them to the garbage.

Today I found a clot of coconut matter where it had fallen off the wall onto the ground, still a bit stinky, and covered with ants.