In Scribblenauts for the Nintendo DS, you type words that turn into objects. You then use the objects to solve puzzles. When you type in the word "sambo", which has all sorts of unpleasant historical connotations as a slur against black people, you apparently get a watermelon (pictured). Hmm.

The usual thing to do on a blog is to jump straight into offended and indignant. Instead, Joystiq decided to check with the game's developers to find out what the deal was.

[creative director Jeremiah] Slaczka explained to Joystiq that "sambo" is used in the game as an alternate term for "fig leaf gourd," an ingredient in the Ecuadorian dish fanesca. "Sambo" is the local term for the gourd. As for the watermelon-like appearance? "We reuse art," he said. "Fig leaf gourd looks a lot like a watermelon. It's just an alternative name in a giant list of tens of thousands of names."