Arduino Pick a random word from array every time sketch is ran

Question

I have some code:

char *fruits[]={"Lettuce", "Tomato", "Pineapple", "Apple"}; //This is the array
long fruit1; 
void setup(){
 Serial.begin(9600);
 randomSeed(500);
 fruit1 = random(sizeof(fruits)/sizeof(char*));
 Serial.println(fruits[fruit1]);//Prints random in serial
}

This code picks a random fruit the first time an arduino sketch is ran, but every other time I run it, it uses the same random fruit it picked the first time the sketch is ran. I want it to pick a random fruit from the array every time the sketch is ran, meaning everytime I turn it on and off I want to see a different and random fruit from the last. Sorry if I'm doing something wrong.

Code source: https://forum.arduino.cc/index.php?topic=45653.0

Answer 1

For a given seed value you will always get the same sequence of random numbers. You need a different seed every time setup is called:

randomSeed()

randomSeed() initializes the pseudo-random number generator, causing it to start at an arbitrary point in its random sequence. This sequence, while very long, and random, is always the same.

If it is important for a sequence of values generated by random() to differ, on subsequent executions of a sketch, use randomSeed() to initialize the random number generator with a fairly random input, such as analogRead() on an unconnected pin.

Conversely, it can occasionally be useful to use pseudo-random sequences that repeat exactly. This can be accomplished by calling randomSeed() with a fixed number, before starting the random sequence.