The New York Times Accidentally Publishes Story About Watermelons Growing On Mars

Ahh, The New York Times. Known for their impeccable editorial standards, fascinating OpEds, and as of this week, their status as the first major news outlet to discuss the bumper crop of watermelons growing on Mars? Yep, it seems a gloriously nonsensical article detailing the existence of martian fruit can now be counted among all the news that's fit to print when on Tuesday, the 133-time Pulitzer prize-winning outlet accidentally posted and then quickly removed an article entitled “Fields of Watermelons Found on Mars, Police Say," penned by the famed author "Joe Schmoe."

“Authorities say rise of fruit aliens is to blame for glut of outer space watermelons," read the short-lived report, published under the site's “Home & Garden” section. "The FBI declined to comment on reports of watermelons raining down, but confirmed that kiwis have been intercepted. This story is terribly boring.”

Unfortunately for us who are intrigued to learn more about these aliens and their apparent a penchant for cultivating summer fruits, the story in question has since been replaced by a message clarifying the mishap. “A mock article intended for a testing system was inadvertently published on this page earlier," reads the page, under the headline “This article was published in error." That said, just like most internet posts, the original article can still be found on an internet archive. 

Despite these clear intentions, it seems several Twitter users still want to believe – in intergalactic fruit. “Tell us the truth about Martian watermelons, NYT!” wrote one user alongside screengrabs of the incident. “We deserve to know.”

“What if they're truly on to something, and Mars is red because it's a giant, skinless watermelon?” speculated another. 

While to pretty much everyone's disappointment, interstellar agriculture may only be the byproduct of a bizarre technical error, it seems there still may be life on the red planet after all. As Futurism noted, several missions from NASA and Chinese scientists are looking into both “the possibility of ancient life” on the red planet, with some experts speculating that some microbial life may still exist beneath the planet's surface. 

So folks, when the day comes that Watermelons are found on mars, at least we know we can count on the New York Times to have the story.

For more internet nonsense, follow Carly on Instagram @HuntressThompson_ on TikTok as @HuntressThompson_, and on Twitter @TennesAnyone.