I learn something every time I read the Banzai Institute FAQ...

[mcroft]

"Why is a watermelon trapped between those monstrous pressure plates deep within the Institute's Critical Stress Laboratory?" Team Banzai botanical agronomists have been for years hard at work on the problem of hunger in Third World countries under constant revolutionary turmoil. A nonpolitical, humanitarian effort, their goal has been to find ways to feed starving peoples in remote areas where traditional food delivery systems prove woefully inadequate. Often, the only way to get the nourishment into the bellies of the needy is to hit and run, avoiding all petty ideological side-taking. What you see in the Critical Stress Lab is a revolutionary watermelon capable of withstanding impact pressures of 300,000 pounds per square inch! Sweet, juicy and vitamin-packed, this remarkable fruit can be dropped from the bomb bays of low-flying aircraft into the backyards of disenfranchised villagers in the remotest backwaters of this angry planet. Just another Team Banzai effort to cut through all the unnecessary crap around us and help people help themselves. Look for high-impact, low cholesterol eggs next... and sooner than you think, shatter-proof whole-wheat taco shells.

--faq

Rumor has is they're working on Phase 2 of the watermelon project, which involves putting a whole chicken into the watermelon so that they can provide a protein source...

Comments

[jpmodisette.livejournal.com]

I think this was an episode of WKRP in Cincinnati.

[avram]

I think this was mentioned in the novelization of the movie.

One of my friends ran a decade-long RPG in which many fictional characters featured. At one point, John Constantine used the seeds from a Banzai Institute to summon up Swamp Thing to fight off a Lovecraft mythos entity.