They are not all bad. In the early 2000's a breeder created a logistical method create tetraploids in 6 years (5 generations every 2 years). He used 3 countries to do it in if I recall correctly.
He integrated some of the small seeded deep red fleshed Chinese germplasm combined with the old flavorful allsweet types to make dramatically improved tetraploids.
Other companies have followed suit and the average quality of the fruit has improved. Some of the newer ones have really excellent flavor.
A. They have no significant difference in nutrition than non-GMO. In fact many GMO's have been created to improve nutrition but sadly not used because of dumbfucks like Greenpeace who would rather have people go blind or die than accept GMO food. For example, rice that produces vitamin A and folic acid have been created but never used.
B. The "Terminator" GMO gene was created by the USDA-ARS and was NEVER released. No seed on the market has ever had a GMO sterility gene. Contrary to public opinion, it was designed to be integrated with other GMO genes to prevent the outcrossing and spread into the environment, not as an IP control mechanism.
Now why seedless watermelons suck is an interesting story.
The first intentional creation of a seedless watermelon was done in 1939 in Japan. University breeding programs in the southern U.S. after WWII began using the technology to create the first hybrids. In the early '50's and '60's multiple tetraploids were created by the university programs and released to private companies to produce seed with.
These tetraploid lines were "greys". "Greys" were selected to have a thick hard rind for long distance shipping. They were barely red on the inside and tasted slightly bitter. They all sucked for flavor.
A seedless watermelon hybrid is made by crossing a tetraploid female by a diploid male. The resulting hybrid (triploid) has 3 copies of every chromosome and is sterile.
Fertile stable tetraploids take a long time to create - around 15 generations of you are lucky. Seedless watermelons also took a long time to gain popularity in the market. So nobody put significant money or time into creating more tetraploid inbreds for over 40 years.
From the 1980's when seedless watermelons were introduced until around 2010, everyone used those shitty old tetraploids as 2/3rds of the hybrid. Since 2010 companies have created new tetraploid to use, but a significant portion still use 70 year old shitty ones.
Genetically the cross is theoretically possible. The difference in size of the individuals, especially the reproductive organs creates a barrier that prevents crossing.
If the differences had been created via natural selection not artificial selection, a great Dane and Chihuahua would likely be listed as different species or subspecies for the same reasons.
When I was teaching my older son to drive, I took him through it. My recommendation: "Never turn left at it. Turn right and find a safer way to go the other way."
When he got to the interchange the guy in front of him tried to turn left and got hit immediately.
Been on my own since I as 17. The first few years were rough to say the least.
I worked 2 jobs, 30-60 hrs per week and went to college. I shared shitty apartments with some pretty creepy people. I moved so constantly I ended up paying for a post office box so I could get my mail. I did not have a vehicle (no car) so I rode a bike for up to 60 miles per day. Even all that wasn't enough without government grants and student loans to pay for college.
Food was something that I ate when I had it. I spent a few months with mybe 4-5 real meals. Cornflakes and ramen where the bulk of my diet for a while.
I took the first professional job I could find. It was terrible but it paid well. I gained 50lbs to be at a healthy weight the first year. The next few years I jumped around jobs until I landed in one I liked.
The last few weeks before I graduated college I met my wife. Her family has become mine over the past 25 years.
Today my income alone puts us in the top 10% of earners. My wife makes close to the same. At many crucual times in our lifes we've taken advantage of government assistance. To be blunt, it's not possible to pull yourself up by your bootstraps. You need a helping hand once in a while no matter how small.
Unpublished Data from when I worked summers in a lab for grad students disagrees with Google.
We tested distilled, RO, DI versus tap water. We were going to see about the double-distilled water but the supervising professor caught us. Apparently "That shit was too expensive for your shenanigans!"
I have gotten flamed a few times for telling the Linux fanboys the hard truth.
If I have to hit Terminal even once with an average setup the OS is not ready for mainstream use. No exceptions. It has to work out of the box on the newest systems.
I use Linux the same way that you have: for a few applications that need a rock solid stable system. Once you get the damn thing setup, it truly is wonderful. Stable, reliable, easy to use. But getting there... Fuck that.
I think I had one clean distro install where everything worked. The PC was 7 years old when I installed it.
Mac did have a better OS than Win 95 -Win98 It was smoother and crashed less.
The difference was that Windows still ran DOS programs, 5.25" floppy disks etc... They made the decision to maintain backwards compatibility.
Mac decided to drop support regularly for what they considered "outdated software and technology." For example: when USB drives came out they canceled support for 3.5" floppies in their OS. Machines that had a 3.5" drive installed could no longer use it. Put a floppy drive in and nothing happened.
Although Mac was a smoother more stable OS, windows had more functionality and greater compatability. Windows was a far superior product because of it. Even with the regular apearance of the blue screen of death.
Linux at the time also suffered from being a terminal based OS. Too much like DOS for way too long. I used it for specific tasks where it excelled at.
I had a non-compete handed to me when I lived in California. I laughed my ass off and signed it. When I left the dumbass VP of HR threatened me with it.
My response was "Could you pretty please try to enforce it? My lawyer would absolutely love to represent me in court. FYI you know my lawyer. He was the paralegal that told you the non-compete contract wasn't legal. You then screwed him over and got him laid him off. Guess who passed the bar exam 6 months ago!"
They are not all bad. In the early 2000's a breeder created a logistical method create tetraploids in 6 years (5 generations every 2 years). He used 3 countries to do it in if I recall correctly.
He integrated some of the small seeded deep red fleshed Chinese germplasm combined with the old flavorful allsweet types to make dramatically improved tetraploids.
Other companies have followed suit and the average quality of the fruit has improved. Some of the newer ones have really excellent flavor.