Ask any rando on the street to name a weird fruit, and dollars to donuts they will say
"banana," and that's just based on them being all yellow, bendy, and the favorite snack
of all monkeys everywhere.
But set aside its wacky appearance, and the sheer danger of its peels in Mario Kart, and
you might be amazed to find out that, when it comes to bananas, weird isn't skin deep.
"That's right, Britta.
It's a banana."
"Why is there a banana in your DVD cabinet?"
"Read the banana, Britta."
"'You are a lying junkie.'"
Potassium power
It's well known that bananas contain large amounts of potassium, good for all sorts of
important bodily functions.
What is less well known is that a small proportion of that potassium is the unstable radioactive
isotope potassium-40.
However, before you get any ideas about stuffing your face with bananas in pursuit of superpowers,
be warned that it's next to impossible to get a significant dose of radiation from banana
consumption.
Using calculations based upon the so-called "Banana Equivalent Dose," you would need to
find room in your stomach for 10 million bananas in a single sitting, in order to give yourself
a lethal, or superpower-inducing, dose of radiation.
On the off-chance that you do attempt that mission, you're probably going to experience
some significant, and probably fatal, non-radiation-related side effects long before you peel the last
one, including a banana peel slip to end all banana peel slips.
Bee-A-N-A-N-A-S
Isopentyl acetate is an organic compound that can be found in bananas, in synthetic banana
flavors, and also in the pheromones of bees.
Bees and other insects rely heavily on pheromones to communicate, not to mention do some pretty
radical dancing, and when threatened, one of the messages they send with pheromones
is "ATTACK!"
Isopentyl acetate is just one ingredient of the attack pheromone, but it is a pungent
one, which is why after a bee stings, you'll often detect a banana-like smell around the
wound.
The chemical is strongest in fresh bananas, but fades as the fruit ripens, so if you just
HAVE to eat a banana around a bunch of bees, best go for a brown one, or else…
"Not the bees!
Not the bees!
AhHHhJehfjkwewejw.
Seeing red
You might freak out at the idea of a red banana, but they do exist.
Red bananas are part of the Musa acuminata species.
Why don't we see all these fun bananas at the local grocery store?
The answer is simple.
According to the Washington Post, after decades of only seeing yellow bananas in our stores,
many Americans aren't interested in non-yellow 'nanners.
How do red bananas taste?
When they aren't ripe, they tend to taste very bitter, with a starchy texture.
If that's not what you're expecting, it can be an unpleasant shock.
For a fruitier flavor, you'll want to make sure to grab a fully ripened red banana, which
tends to be very sweet and creamy.
Some actually compare the flavor to strawberry banana, while others note a "hint of raspberry"
flavor.
One in the same
Can you remember the first banana you ever ate?
How about the most recent one?
Well you might be surprised to learn that, genetically, they were the same banana.
That's because most of the bananas we eat in the West are known as Cavendish bananas,
and they are all infertile.
Meaning you can't just plant a seed to get a new plant.
Instead you have to cut a piece from another plant and grow it separately.
Those two plants, and their fruit, will be genetically identical.
Clones are pretty cool, and they make for good science fiction, but in the case of bananas
there's a serious downside.
Before the Cavendish became top banana, the Gros Michel was the banana boss.
Unfortunately, a fungus came along and took a liking to Gros Michel, wiping them all out.
Eventually, the less creamy, less sweet, overall less satisfying Cavendish claimed its throne,
and now we are where we are now.
A-peel-ing benefits
Could it be that we love bananas not only because they taste delicious, but also because
they make us feel good?
"Always take a banana to a party, Rose.
Bananas are good."
We couldn't agree more, Doc.
According to LiveScience, bananas can elevate your mood and help beat the snot out of depression.
It's all thanks to "high levels of tryptophan, which the body converts to serotonin, the
mood-elevating brain neurotransmitter."
If that's not awesome enough, the magnesium in bananas can relax muscles, while the vitamin
B6 in them helps you get a good night's sleep.
That's probably also thanks to the tryptophan, as anyone who overdid it at Thanksgiving can
testify.
Bananas for bananas
If you're watching this, it's probably safe to assume you like bananas.
The average American eats roughly 25 pounds of them a year which, depending on the size
of the bananas you buy, means you could be eating as many as 100 bananas per year, which
would work out to around two every week.
Still, America doesn't even come close to the nation that eats the most nanners.
That honor goes to Uganda, where they eat around 420 pounds of bananas per year on average.
Ugandans eat so many bananas that their word for food, "matooke," is also the name for
a common banana-based dish.
Uganda is the largest producer of bananas in sub-Saharan Africa, so it's not really
a surprise that they would eat a lot of what they grow.
But to eat that many?
They must be really, really, bananas for bananas.