A tomato is a fruit.
for grown-ups
What's actually true
Both, depending on whose rule you use. That's the point of the round.
- By the plant scientists' rule a fruit grows from a flower and holds the seeds, so a tomato is a fruit.
- By the cooks' rule a vegetable goes in the main meal, not in pudding, so a tomato is a vegetable.
In 1893 the US Supreme Court had to pick a rule, for a 10% tax on imported vegetables (Nix v. Hedden). It used the everyday, cooks' meaning for that law. It did not decide what a tomato "really" is.
This is the round about claims that depend on a rule someone made. Both answers can be right, and the useful question is "by whose rule?".
Sources: Iowa State University Extension, "Is a tomato a fruit or a vegetable?" ("The answer is both!"); Nix v. Hedden, 149 U.S. 304 (1893), via Cornell's Legal Information Institute.
What kids usually bring
- "It has seeds inside." The plant rule, exactly.
- "It goes in salad, not fruit salad." The cooks' rule, exactly.
- "It isn't sweet." A cooks'-style rule about taste. Plenty of fruits aren't sweet, by the plant rule.
- "It depends who you ask." The round's whole move, arrived at early.
At dinner
Ask: "Is a cucumber a fruit? A pumpkin? By whose rule?" (By the plant rule, both are.)
Then the one rule: say their reason back before you give yours.
The round never tells your child the answer. This card does, so you're never caught out. If your child wants to argue with it, that is the point.
