WEBVTT - Are Bananas Going Extinct? 0:00:00.080 --> 0:00:03.080 Guess what will? What's that mango? So this is embarrassing 0:00:03.080 --> 0:00:05.160 to admit, but I had no idea. There was a 0:00:05.200 --> 0:00:09.959 giant exhibition in eighteen seventy six celebrating america Centennial. I mean, 0:00:10.000 --> 0:00:12.479 I had heard of the eighteen seventy six World's Fair, 0:00:12.520 --> 0:00:15.440 but I didn't realize it was also called the Philadelphia 0:00:15.520 --> 0:00:18.680 Centennial Exposition. And for the little I've read about it, 0:00:18.680 --> 0:00:22.000 it sounds amazing. It does take a big man to 0:00:22.000 --> 0:00:24.040 admit that you had not heard of that. But but 0:00:24.079 --> 0:00:26.240 what do you mean, like, what was so amazing about it? Well, 0:00:26.280 --> 0:00:29.560 first of all, the attendance was staggering, Like ten million 0:00:29.600 --> 0:00:32.040 people showed up and that was one fifth of the 0:00:32.120 --> 0:00:35.000 US population at the time. Wow, I had no idea. Yeah, 0:00:35.080 --> 0:00:37.199 And and there were tons of incredible things on display. 0:00:37.240 --> 0:00:39.519 So like the arm and torch for the future Statue 0:00:39.560 --> 0:00:41.640 of Liberty was there, it was just out sitting on 0:00:41.680 --> 0:00:46.120 a long The first automatic dishwasher was there on display, 0:00:46.159 --> 0:00:49.800 along with like sewing machines and typewriters, a mechanical pencil 0:00:49.880 --> 0:00:52.080 for people to gak at. There was also this new 0:00:52.120 --> 0:00:56.240 fangled thing called hinz ketchup. You may have heard of it. Yeah, 0:00:56.360 --> 0:00:58.840 people could testify dunking pieces of sausage in it. But 0:00:59.400 --> 0:01:02.200 the two things that got the most type the telephone, 0:01:02.360 --> 0:01:05.399 as demonstrated by Alexander Graham Bell, which people were in 0:01:05.480 --> 0:01:07.640 total of. I mean, this is a lot of amazing 0:01:07.640 --> 0:01:09.600 stuff in one place, all right. And so so what 0:01:09.640 --> 0:01:13.679 was the other thing? The banana? Of course, the banana. Yeah, 0:01:13.720 --> 0:01:16.440 so according to this amazing book Banana by Dan Copple, 0:01:16.760 --> 0:01:19.840 the fruit was unveiled as this healthy and cheap alternative 0:01:19.840 --> 0:01:23.120 to the apple. Before the bananas were the status symbol, 0:01:23.280 --> 0:01:26.280 almost like caviare, but all of a sudden they were 0:01:26.280 --> 0:01:28.680 being marketed to everyone. Actually, let let me read you 0:01:28.720 --> 0:01:31.720 a quote from one of the admirers there. To my 0:01:31.840 --> 0:01:34.959 young and impressionable mind, this was the most romantic of 0:01:35.000 --> 0:01:37.600 all the innumerable things I had seen that any of 0:01:37.640 --> 0:01:41.199 the vast buildings. It was the tangible, living and expressive 0:01:41.240 --> 0:01:44.240 symbol of the far distant and mysterious tropics. And to 0:01:44.280 --> 0:01:47.160 be clear, we're talking about a banana here, right. So 0:01:47.280 --> 0:01:50.360 that that was from Frederick Upham Adams. He was the 0:01:50.400 --> 0:01:53.040 inventor who would go on to streamline the locomotive, and 0:01:53.120 --> 0:01:55.760 of all those incredible inventions, it was the banana that 0:01:55.840 --> 0:01:59.320 captivated him and also the rest of America. But why 0:01:59.320 --> 0:02:01.720 are banana's cheap when they come from so far away? 0:02:01.760 --> 0:02:04.760 And how did fruit get so popular? And is the 0:02:04.800 --> 0:02:08.320 banana actually going extinct? That's what today's episode is all about. 0:02:08.639 --> 0:02:29.560 Why don't we dive in? Yea? Hey there, podcast listeners, 0:02:29.560 --> 0:02:32.200 Welcome to Parttime Genius. I'm Will Pearson and as always 0:02:32.240 --> 0:02:34.640 I'm joined by my good friend man guest ticket, and 0:02:34.639 --> 0:02:37.760 sitting behind the soundproof glass boarding a banana rama sweatshirt 0:02:37.840 --> 0:02:42.240 is our pal and producer Tristan McNeil. My sweatshirt, Tristan, So, 0:02:42.280 --> 0:02:44.239 I know you've been wanting to talk about the banana 0:02:44.280 --> 0:02:46.400 and whether it's actually going extinct, you know, for a 0:02:46.400 --> 0:02:48.839 while now. But before we get into that, why don't 0:02:48.880 --> 0:02:51.239 we tackle a little outstanding business from our coal a 0:02:51.280 --> 0:02:54.120 Wars episode from last week. I guess it was right 0:02:54.560 --> 0:02:56.640 all right? Well, first off, we we wanted to have 0:02:56.680 --> 0:02:59.360 the Soda Jerks on for a quiz, but unfortunately it 0:02:59.440 --> 0:03:01.959 didn't work out because of timing. So we want to 0:03:02.040 --> 0:03:03.760 let you know about these guys. The Soda Jerks have 0:03:03.760 --> 0:03:06.840 a wonderful soda review site and they you know, taste 0:03:06.840 --> 0:03:10.520 and review all sorts of sodas from Crazy Delicious kinds, 0:03:10.560 --> 0:03:13.840 the one that tastes like ranch dressing. Yeah, that that 0:03:14.000 --> 0:03:17.040 ranch soda review is so great. But when we realized 0:03:17.080 --> 0:03:19.320 we couldn't have them on, they told us, make sure 0:03:19.320 --> 0:03:21.720 you talk about Crystal Pepsi and how TAB tried to 0:03:21.760 --> 0:03:25.120 sabotage it. Actually hadn't heard the story before they mentioned it, 0:03:25.160 --> 0:03:27.760 but now we absolutely have to share it. Definitely. So 0:03:27.880 --> 0:03:30.440 when Crystal Pepsi came out, it was obviously making this 0:03:30.560 --> 0:03:33.120 huge splash, and Coke wanted to take the wind out 0:03:33.120 --> 0:03:35.440 of Pepsi's sales, but they didn't want to release a 0:03:35.480 --> 0:03:37.480 clear cooke because they thought that could be damaging for 0:03:37.520 --> 0:03:40.280 their coke brand. Yeah, that's right. So instead they did 0:03:40.320 --> 0:03:43.720 something super devious. Coke took the brand from their stable 0:03:43.760 --> 0:03:46.520 they knew wasn't popular, which was TAB, and they released 0:03:46.520 --> 0:03:49.080 a clear version to compete with Pepsi. It. Did you 0:03:49.080 --> 0:03:51.880 even remember clear TAB? I can't say that I didn't. 0:03:52.200 --> 0:03:54.200 And they didn't put that much effort to it, and 0:03:54.240 --> 0:03:56.600 I'm not sure how much they worked on the formula, 0:03:56.920 --> 0:03:58.920 but they didn't even put the product in a clear 0:03:58.960 --> 0:04:01.200 bottle to show that it was clear. They just put 0:04:01.480 --> 0:04:04.280 Tab clear on the can, and like, customers assumed that 0:04:04.320 --> 0:04:07.520 it was clear, right, And as the soda jerks pointed out, 0:04:07.760 --> 0:04:11.040 this was totally genius, like evil genius. Yeah, and you know, 0:04:11.080 --> 0:04:13.640 and because Tab was a diet drink, people just assumed 0:04:13.680 --> 0:04:16.560 Crystal Pepsi was diet too, and it turned off a 0:04:16.640 --> 0:04:20.279 large percentage of the market. And years later, co insiders 0:04:20.320 --> 0:04:22.760 admitted that the effort was to kama kaze the brand. 0:04:22.760 --> 0:04:24.719 I mean that's their wording. They said, that's what the 0:04:24.760 --> 0:04:28.159 plan was all along. And basically they knew their Crystal 0:04:28.200 --> 0:04:30.920 Tab would fail, but they hoped it would take down 0:04:30.920 --> 0:04:34.280 Crystal Pepsi with it, and it did. Yeah, it's a 0:04:34.279 --> 0:04:36.120 funny bit of history from the Cola Wars that we 0:04:36.160 --> 0:04:38.760 totally would have missed. And you can find the soda 0:04:38.839 --> 0:04:41.760 jerks that the soda jerks dot net. And for those 0:04:41.800 --> 0:04:43.919 of you who wrote in with brands we should have mentioned, 0:04:43.960 --> 0:04:47.480 from Iron Brew to Doc Brown Cellarray, we promised we'll 0:04:47.480 --> 0:04:49.559 give them a taste and sneak those into future soda 0:04:49.560 --> 0:04:52.479 episodes down the line. Alright, so I guess we gotta 0:04:52.480 --> 0:04:55.200 get back to banana here. So Mango. I know this 0:04:55.279 --> 0:04:57.039 is on air, but I've got to say, I was 0:04:57.080 --> 0:04:59.040 watching you in the office this week and I saw 0:04:59.080 --> 0:05:01.640 you pick up a banana, look around, and then you 0:05:01.760 --> 0:05:05.960 quickly flipped it around and peeled it. But you weirdly 0:05:05.960 --> 0:05:08.320 look so embarrassed doing it. It was kind of like 0:05:08.320 --> 0:05:10.600 you were doing something sneaky that you weren't supposed to 0:05:10.640 --> 0:05:14.240 be doing. I know, because eating banana backwards feels so wrong. 0:05:14.560 --> 0:05:16.720 So for those of you don't know, and I'm guessing 0:05:16.760 --> 0:05:19.000 that's most of you, a few years ago I changed 0:05:19.040 --> 0:05:21.520 the way I peeled my bananas. Before I'd always just 0:05:21.600 --> 0:05:23.599 used the stem part as the pool tab, kind of 0:05:23.600 --> 0:05:26.360 a way everyone's trained. It's actually kind of a clunky 0:05:26.360 --> 0:05:28.719 way to do it because it never actually pulls easily. 0:05:29.120 --> 0:05:30.640 But then I saw this life act that if you 0:05:30.720 --> 0:05:33.400 just turned the banana upside down, not only does that 0:05:33.440 --> 0:05:36.799 stem become a convenient banana handle, but it's actually way 0:05:36.920 --> 0:05:39.720 easier to peel. Plus you don't get any of those 0:05:39.760 --> 0:05:42.240 annoying strands stuck to your banana, Like how much thought 0:05:42.240 --> 0:05:44.880 you'd put into this, but that actually that's how monkeys 0:05:44.880 --> 0:05:46.800 eat them, right, Yeah, So so for me that was 0:05:46.800 --> 0:05:48.640 the kicker, right, Like, when I read that, I was 0:05:48.720 --> 0:05:51.200 like humans, You idiots, Why don't you just eat the 0:05:51.240 --> 0:05:54.840 way monkeys have been doing it forever? Monkeys are so smart, 0:05:54.560 --> 0:05:58.560 smart type like monkeys, we should I know everything. But 0:05:58.560 --> 0:06:00.600 but then this week I read this article on Business 0:06:00.600 --> 0:06:05.600 Insider where Catherine Milton, who studies primate diets, went off. Here, 0:06:05.720 --> 0:06:08.600 I'm going to read you this quote. I'm not sure 0:06:08.600 --> 0:06:11.359 where the myth that monkeys eat bananas started. I personally 0:06:11.400 --> 0:06:14.679 suspect curious George, but it's time for it to stop. 0:06:15.080 --> 0:06:19.000 Wild monkeys don't eat them exclamation point. The whole wild 0:06:19.080 --> 0:06:22.719 monkey banana connection is a total fabrication. She sounds pretty 0:06:22.720 --> 0:06:24.279 ticked off. So but let me get this right. So 0:06:24.320 --> 0:06:27.240 monkeys don't eat bananas. No, they do eat bananas. Her 0:06:27.279 --> 0:06:29.960 point was just that monkeys only started eating bananas after 0:06:30.040 --> 0:06:33.200 humans cultivated them, and that bananas are actually too sugary 0:06:33.240 --> 0:06:36.000 for monkeys and can give them toothaches and diabetes. But 0:06:36.040 --> 0:06:38.000 when she was pressed on the topic, she gave my 0:06:38.040 --> 0:06:42.279 favorite quote in the article. Quote, of course monkeys and 0:06:42.400 --> 0:06:45.839 apes aren't stupid, they're relish eating bananas once they're exposed 0:06:45.880 --> 0:06:48.080 to them. All right, So, just to recap on this, 0:06:48.600 --> 0:06:52.200 wild monkeys don't eat bananas, but civilized monkeys who have 0:06:52.240 --> 0:06:55.240 been exposed to the finer things do eat bananas, but 0:06:55.279 --> 0:06:58.440 they shouldn't eat them because of diabetes. Yeah, bingo, Okay, 0:06:58.640 --> 0:07:00.640 I'm glad we've settled that. All right. So, I know 0:07:00.680 --> 0:07:02.440 we've got a lot to say about the banana. And 0:07:02.560 --> 0:07:05.359 obviously the big question we're asking today is our bananas 0:07:05.440 --> 0:07:08.560 going extinct. But what's kind of strange is that if 0:07:08.600 --> 0:07:11.040 that happens, this will actually be the second time a 0:07:11.120 --> 0:07:14.240 top banana has gone extinct. Yeah, so, so you're right. 0:07:14.320 --> 0:07:16.800 Basically the banana that everyone fell in love with from 0:07:16.800 --> 0:07:20.280 the eighteen seventies until the mid nineteen hundreds, and that's 0:07:20.280 --> 0:07:22.480 the one that started the banana craze. It was called 0:07:22.480 --> 0:07:24.960 the Gross Michelle or for those of you who want 0:07:25.040 --> 0:07:28.880 English translation from the French, Big Mike. I never know 0:07:29.080 --> 0:07:32.080 that fairly Big Mike was not to be the perfect banana, 0:07:32.440 --> 0:07:34.560 and the flavor was completely different from what we know 0:07:34.880 --> 0:07:37.240 speaking of. I actually went to this pop up magazine 0:07:37.240 --> 0:07:38.880 show a while ago. Have you have you gone? I 0:07:38.920 --> 0:07:40.720 like how we've been in for like fifteen seconds and 0:07:40.760 --> 0:07:42.960 you're already on a tanta here. But no, I actually 0:07:43.040 --> 0:07:44.440 have not been to one but I know you've said 0:07:44.440 --> 0:07:46.800 they're they're pretty great. Yeah you should go. So for 0:07:46.840 --> 0:07:48.920 those of you don't know, Pop Up Magazine tours the 0:07:48.920 --> 0:07:52.280 country performing a live magazine curating like twelve or thirteen 0:07:52.280 --> 0:07:54.560 different writers to speak in a night, and they have 0:07:54.640 --> 0:07:57.600 this live orchestra that actually scores the stories, and sometimes 0:07:57.600 --> 0:08:00.840 they include shadow puppets or video or these scents. Three experiences, 0:08:01.240 --> 0:08:04.880 I honestly tell everyone about them. Yeah, but when I 0:08:04.920 --> 0:08:07.000 was at one in New York, they had a chef 0:08:07.040 --> 0:08:09.440 who handed out two types of marshmallows to the crowd, 0:08:09.760 --> 0:08:12.040 and as she talked about cinnamon in wartime, she had 0:08:12.040 --> 0:08:14.840 his taste one marshmallow and then the other, and it 0:08:14.920 --> 0:08:18.120 was crazy. So the first one was like a cinnamon 0:08:18.200 --> 0:08:21.360 sprig flavor you all know it was. It was pretty tasty. 0:08:21.600 --> 0:08:23.480 And then the second was the cinnamon that used to 0:08:23.480 --> 0:08:26.440 be available from Vietnam in the nineteen fifties but was 0:08:26.520 --> 0:08:29.360 discontinued in the US after the war started. It had 0:08:29.400 --> 0:08:33.199 this really like sweet and juicy and big red flavor. 0:08:33.720 --> 0:08:35.719 It was almost like two cartoonish to seem like a 0:08:35.800 --> 0:08:38.760 natural flavor, and you kind of realized cinnamon gum was 0:08:38.800 --> 0:08:41.560 meant to resemble the Saigon version of cinnamon, not the 0:08:41.600 --> 0:08:44.880 milder one we've grown accustomed to. And that's kind of 0:08:44.880 --> 0:08:48.280 the same with the banana. Like the gross Michelle was 0:08:48.320 --> 0:08:52.880 the sweeter, more custody, and really more delicious banana. It 0:08:52.920 --> 0:08:55.120 was actually so delicious that when there was a blight 0:08:55.120 --> 0:08:58.079 in the nineteen fifties and the crops started going extinct, 0:08:58.360 --> 0:09:01.480 banana companies assumed people would revolt if they switched banana 0:09:01.520 --> 0:09:04.160 styles on them, which is exactly what they eventually had 0:09:04.200 --> 0:09:06.800 to do. Well, And to be clear, Big Mike was 0:09:06.880 --> 0:09:09.079 just one of over I don't know, like a thousand 0:09:09.160 --> 0:09:12.200 banana species in the world, right, but but a number 0:09:12.200 --> 0:09:14.400 of them have seeds so hard they'd actually like break 0:09:14.440 --> 0:09:16.480 your teeth if you've been to them. So some are 0:09:16.480 --> 0:09:19.400 more like plantains and less sweet. Some are totally inedible. 0:09:19.600 --> 0:09:22.880 But the gross Michelle banana was considered like the perfect banana. 0:09:23.240 --> 0:09:26.040 It didn't often have seeds, it didn't bruise easily, so 0:09:26.080 --> 0:09:28.040 you could just pile them on a boat without boxes. 0:09:28.440 --> 0:09:30.920 Its flavor was never off like the bananas you get 0:09:30.920 --> 0:09:34.240 in the stores today. It grew year round, and it 0:09:34.320 --> 0:09:37.160 was hardy and resistant to most things. At least until 0:09:37.200 --> 0:09:40.679 this mysterious Panama disease started wiping it out in something 0:09:40.720 --> 0:09:42.840 like a decade. It basically took out all the gross 0:09:42.880 --> 0:09:45.640 Michelles with it, all right. And so just just to 0:09:45.679 --> 0:09:47.880 tie this up here, that the Caven Dish, which was 0:09:47.920 --> 0:09:51.320 the inferior banana both in taste and how it bruised, 0:09:51.880 --> 0:09:54.480 that was picked as the replacement, partially because it looked 0:09:54.520 --> 0:09:57.320 like the Big Mike, but also because it was resistant 0:09:57.360 --> 0:10:00.560 to this Panama disease. Is that right? Well? You know, 0:10:00.760 --> 0:10:03.320 I was looking up styles of bananas because reading about 0:10:03.360 --> 0:10:05.760 the Big Mike made me curious what other flavors you 0:10:05.760 --> 0:10:07.839 can get from a banana. And here are a few 0:10:07.840 --> 0:10:09.720 of the ones I really want to try. You know, 0:10:09.760 --> 0:10:11.880 I love lists of like strange fruit. So what's in 0:10:11.920 --> 0:10:14.120 your top three? All right, I'm just gonna read off 0:10:14.120 --> 0:10:16.960 my list here. So so first, the one that I 0:10:17.000 --> 0:10:19.679 really want to try is called the apple banana. It's 0:10:19.720 --> 0:10:22.760 actually so sweet. It sometimes called the candy apple banana. 0:10:23.280 --> 0:10:26.280 It's slightly pinkish and more juicy than a regular banana, 0:10:26.320 --> 0:10:29.920 and also sweet, and it doesn't really ever brown. And 0:10:30.000 --> 0:10:32.520 you can find this in Hawaii. It's so funny, like 0:10:32.559 --> 0:10:34.920 you say all these words like juicy and candy apple, 0:10:35.000 --> 0:10:37.400 and I actually can't imagine how good it is. But 0:10:37.440 --> 0:10:39.200 what I know is I really want to try one. 0:10:39.240 --> 0:10:41.400 I know, So what else you got? All right, there's 0:10:41.400 --> 0:10:43.640 something called the ice cream banana. Speaking ones that we 0:10:43.640 --> 0:10:45.600 should try. It almost sounds like I'm just making these up. 0:10:45.960 --> 0:10:48.480 This one is real. Also called the blue java banana. 0:10:48.880 --> 0:10:52.040 It's this strong plant that's hardy enough to survive monsoons, 0:10:52.080 --> 0:10:54.880 but it's also got a vanilla flavor to it, and 0:10:54.920 --> 0:10:57.640 the flesh is kind of pudding like, which I can't 0:10:57.640 --> 0:11:01.120 decide if that sounds delicious or gross, but but in fact, 0:11:01.160 --> 0:11:03.640 a lot of people actually eat this with a spoon. Yes, 0:11:03.760 --> 0:11:06.240 so I think I've seen monkeys eat those with a spoon, 0:11:06.559 --> 0:11:09.480 but not wild monkeys, definitely not wild monkeys. Well, a 0:11:09.480 --> 0:11:12.360 lot of people call it the tastiest banana. And then 0:11:12.360 --> 0:11:15.360 there's also the red banana, which is short and sticky 0:11:15.480 --> 0:11:18.520 and also really sweet, and I don't know, you get 0:11:18.559 --> 0:11:21.199 lost in all these banana descriptions that I almost want 0:11:21.200 --> 0:11:23.320 a banana kind of sort of walk me through each 0:11:23.320 --> 0:11:26.760 of these things. But the fact that the bananas that 0:11:26.760 --> 0:11:29.320 come to the States are cavendish makes you crave these 0:11:29.360 --> 0:11:32.199 so much more so I definitely want to talk more 0:11:32.200 --> 0:11:34.400 about the Cavendish and I feel like the way it's 0:11:34.440 --> 0:11:37.400 talked about in these books, it's almost like this mediocre, 0:11:37.679 --> 0:11:41.840 flavorless garbage fruit. But even mediocre bananas are good well, 0:11:41.880 --> 0:11:44.400 and Americans certainly do love them. I was reading this 0:11:44.440 --> 0:11:46.720 New York Times article on the Secret Life of the 0:11:46.800 --> 0:11:50.320 City Banana. So there are twenty million bananas distributed around 0:11:50.360 --> 0:11:54.280 New York City every week, every single week. That's eighty 0:11:54.360 --> 0:11:57.720 million a month and seven twenty million bananas a year. 0:11:58.000 --> 0:12:00.560 Like I did the map on that so quick, and 0:12:00.600 --> 0:12:03.120 that's just in New York City. That's crazy. But as 0:12:03.200 --> 0:12:06.400 much of America loves bananas, apparently India loves them even 0:12:06.400 --> 0:12:09.080 more so. According to a two thousand fifteen article in 0:12:09.080 --> 0:12:12.679 The Hindu, the country producest of the world's bananas, but 0:12:13.080 --> 0:12:16.920 basically exports none of it. Like their entire economies in 0:12:16.960 --> 0:12:20.600 Central and South America built exclusively on banana exports, and 0:12:20.640 --> 0:12:23.720 India turns down all of that money. They only send 0:12:23.720 --> 0:12:25.920 out one percent of their bananas and they hoard the 0:12:25.960 --> 0:12:28.360 rest for themselves. And i'mlike, in the US, you can 0:12:28.400 --> 0:12:31.240 find tons of varieties of bananas there, but that isn't 0:12:31.240 --> 0:12:33.160 the tangent I wanted to take you on. I wanted 0:12:33.200 --> 0:12:35.320 to tell you about the weirdest fact I learned this week, 0:12:35.520 --> 0:12:37.840 and that's that the forbidden fruit in the Bible might 0:12:37.880 --> 0:12:39.920 actually be a banana. I like how you have a 0:12:39.960 --> 0:12:42.360 tangent from a hand to it. All right, this does 0:12:42.400 --> 0:12:44.200 sound interesting, though, so so what do you mean by this? 0:12:44.559 --> 0:12:47.160 So couple is out this amazing argument that the banana 0:12:47.240 --> 0:12:49.600 might actually be what he took a bite out of, 0:12:49.920 --> 0:12:52.280 and he's got all sorts of evidence for it. So 0:12:52.640 --> 0:12:54.840 you start with the fact that the banana is, well, 0:12:54.880 --> 0:12:58.000 you know, this pretty suggestive looking fruit, and you can 0:12:58.040 --> 0:13:00.640 see what it might be thought of as racy or forbidden. 0:13:01.040 --> 0:13:02.800 And as you and I have both read before, the 0:13:02.840 --> 0:13:05.880 Bible never actually like specifically mentions what the fruit is, 0:13:06.240 --> 0:13:09.160 but it is described in the Koran, and their Copple 0:13:09.240 --> 0:13:12.600 says it's talked about as a tree whose quote fruits 0:13:12.640 --> 0:13:16.800 piled one above another in long extended shade, whose season 0:13:16.920 --> 0:13:19.800 is not limited, and whose supply will not be cut off. 0:13:20.440 --> 0:13:22.480 And you know, as any New Englander will tell you, 0:13:22.559 --> 0:13:26.199 there's a very clear apple season. But that description as 0:13:26.200 --> 0:13:29.319 Copple points out, really describes the bunches upon bunches of 0:13:29.360 --> 0:13:33.440 bananas growing multigenerationally and in continuous rings on the plant, 0:13:33.960 --> 0:13:36.000 and then he backs this up with talk of climate. 0:13:36.080 --> 0:13:38.440 So basically, when scientists looked at the description for the 0:13:38.440 --> 0:13:40.640 Garden of Eden and this idea of a place that's 0:13:40.640 --> 0:13:43.520 bound by four rivers, they were already thinking that two 0:13:43.559 --> 0:13:45.959 of the rivers with the tigers and the euphrates, but 0:13:46.000 --> 0:13:48.040 then they found evidence of two rivers that used to 0:13:48.120 --> 0:13:51.880 exist near them, and that land wasn't aspitable to apples. 0:13:52.280 --> 0:13:55.840 It's prime banana growing territory. That's pretty wild. And so 0:13:55.960 --> 0:13:58.640 are there other people who also believe this? Yeah, apparently 0:13:58.679 --> 0:14:00.880 there were a number of scholars whople leave this, including 0:14:01.160 --> 0:14:04.880 car Linnas you know he's that taxonomist. In fact, the 0:14:04.880 --> 0:14:10.520 scientific name he gave bananas was Musa paradisiaca, or wise 0:14:10.559 --> 0:14:13.880 fruit of paradise. And uh. Copple has one other bit 0:14:13.920 --> 0:14:17.240 of evidence. Apparently bananas used to be mistaken for figs 0:14:17.280 --> 0:14:20.160 before they were well known, maybe because they had seeds 0:14:20.160 --> 0:14:23.120 and we're stickier. But but Alexander the Great, when he 0:14:23.160 --> 0:14:25.320 tried to banana and in India, reportedly thought it was 0:14:25.320 --> 0:14:28.360 a fig and in Hebrew translations, Copple points out that 0:14:28.400 --> 0:14:31.880 the fruits, often translated as the fig of eve plus 0:14:31.880 --> 0:14:34.280 fig leaves make like a lot more sense as something 0:14:34.320 --> 0:14:36.400 that they could use to cover off their body when 0:14:36.440 --> 0:14:39.480 you realize they're banana leaves, something people actually used to 0:14:39.560 --> 0:14:42.520 use to cover up their bodies in history, right right, Well, 0:14:42.560 --> 0:14:45.000 you know the description of the bananas foal, it comes 0:14:45.080 --> 0:14:47.400 up a lot and I actually read that in Victorian 0:14:47.440 --> 0:14:50.600 times bananas were cut up and sold and foil and 0:14:50.600 --> 0:14:52.520 that was because the idea of buying or eating a 0:14:52.560 --> 0:14:56.240 banana hole would offend these you know, delicate Victorian sensibilities, 0:14:56.280 --> 0:14:58.240 which is kind of funny to read about. But you 0:14:58.240 --> 0:15:00.440 know what's so funny about this whole forbidden root thing 0:15:00.480 --> 0:15:03.600 is that the banana is basically a sexless plant. I mean, 0:15:03.600 --> 0:15:06.640 bananas are all clones of one another, grown from clippings 0:15:06.640 --> 0:15:10.240 and not seeds. It's how all cavendish tastes so uniform. 0:15:10.320 --> 0:15:13.120 But also while those big mics died off and they 0:15:13.120 --> 0:15:16.600 all have the exact same vulnerability. But beyond that, for 0:15:16.600 --> 0:15:18.560 all this talk about the male anatomy the fruit of 0:15:18.560 --> 0:15:21.280 the banana that we eat, it's actually the female part 0:15:21.280 --> 0:15:24.080 of the bananas anatomy. That's crazy, And I mean, the 0:15:24.080 --> 0:15:28.040 banana is all contradictions how so, so I was actually 0:15:28.080 --> 0:15:30.360 thinking about this earlier. But like almost everything good you 0:15:30.400 --> 0:15:32.880 say about it has an opposite. So, like the plant 0:15:32.920 --> 0:15:36.760 has devastated countries and economies, you think about banana republics 0:15:36.840 --> 0:15:39.680 or whatever, but it's also kept nations in Africa fed 0:15:39.760 --> 0:15:43.120 and out of wars. It's considered the perfect package fruit 0:15:43.120 --> 0:15:45.920 because it's portable and transports so well without getting the 0:15:45.920 --> 0:15:49.040 fruit itself dirty. But the peels were also easy to litter, 0:15:49.120 --> 0:15:51.160 and once up our time, they were considered the bane 0:15:51.160 --> 0:15:54.160 of society. It's sold for super cheap in the US, 0:15:54.240 --> 0:15:57.000 and it's almost considered this simple fruit of the people. 0:15:57.120 --> 0:16:00.080 But to get it here, tons of people are exploited it. 0:16:00.160 --> 0:16:03.040 And and also all these fancy technologies from the cold 0:16:03.120 --> 0:16:06.760 chain to railroads to radio systems, they all had to 0:16:06.800 --> 0:16:09.600 be innovated. Yeah, and there's a ton to cover there, 0:16:09.600 --> 0:16:11.320 and and I definitely want to start by how the 0:16:11.360 --> 0:16:13.800 banana got to the US. But quickly before we do, 0:16:13.800 --> 0:16:21.680 why don't we take a break, So mango, it's pretty 0:16:21.760 --> 0:16:24.520 rare that we have a guest that aligns so perfectly 0:16:24.680 --> 0:16:27.960 with the topic. But today we've got Ken Banister TV 0:16:28.200 --> 0:16:30.680 on the program. And now now Ken's the founder of 0:16:30.720 --> 0:16:33.360 the International Banana Club. Did you ever think you'd be 0:16:33.360 --> 0:16:36.360 speaking with the founder of the International Banana Club? And 0:16:36.360 --> 0:16:38.880 and in case you were wondering, the TV after his 0:16:39.000 --> 0:16:42.680 name stands for top Banana of course, Ken Banister. Welcome 0:16:42.720 --> 0:16:47.440 to Part Time Genius. Thank you my pleasure. Hey, so, Ken, um, 0:16:47.520 --> 0:16:49.920 would you tell us a little about the International Banana 0:16:49.960 --> 0:16:52.480 Club and why do you decide to celebrate the banana 0:16:52.520 --> 0:16:55.760 in the first place. Well, this is a fun bunch. 0:16:55.880 --> 0:16:58.880 I started back in nineteen seventy two, and uh, it 0:16:58.920 --> 0:17:02.000 all came about as my secretarious husband, who was a 0:17:02.080 --> 0:17:05.560 Steve Adore unloading bananas in Long Beach, California, gave me 0:17:06.440 --> 0:17:10.320 a role of ten thousand banana stickers. So, as the 0:17:10.359 --> 0:17:15.520 president of a manufacturing firm making Reflectus all products, I 0:17:15.600 --> 0:17:21.520 took that roll of stickers to a trade show in Atlanta, Georgia, 0:17:22.000 --> 0:17:26.160 and started handing out banana stickers to people to affix 0:17:26.280 --> 0:17:30.520 to their I D badges, And I assured them that 0:17:31.080 --> 0:17:35.320 everybody would smile if they saw that banana sticker. One two, 0:17:35.400 --> 0:17:38.959 they would get a discount tree, it would improve their attitude, 0:17:39.160 --> 0:17:41.600 and it would remind them to stay in good health 0:17:41.680 --> 0:17:47.120 and consume one finger or one banana every morning. So 0:17:47.440 --> 0:17:52.560 what I did to get people excited motivated about the 0:17:52.600 --> 0:17:57.560 banana turned into a club. I had a card made 0:17:58.119 --> 0:18:01.880 and decided that I would offer b M's Banana merits 0:18:02.760 --> 0:18:08.119 and to degrees in Banana Street for sending things to 0:18:08.160 --> 0:18:11.399 do with banana is in good taste. Nothing with cruder 0:18:11.440 --> 0:18:16.440 lestibous would be accepted. So that's how the collection got started. 0:18:16.800 --> 0:18:19.920 This was clear back in nineteen seventy two. What kind 0:18:19.960 --> 0:18:21.879 of benefits do you get as a member of the club. 0:18:22.080 --> 0:18:25.119 And is it true that Ronald Reagan was a member? Well, 0:18:25.560 --> 0:18:30.440 yes he was. I I inducted him. His title was 0:18:30.520 --> 0:18:34.119 PB President Banana. Everybody gets the title of their choice. 0:18:34.680 --> 0:18:37.399 I told him he should probably select the PB, and 0:18:37.440 --> 0:18:40.560 he said, you know that's fine. Man. We've had lots 0:18:40.600 --> 0:18:45.200 of of celebrities playing this bunch over the years because 0:18:45.400 --> 0:18:47.760 of the purpose, which is to keep people smiling, their 0:18:47.800 --> 0:18:50.480 spirits up and give him a chance to get some recognition. 0:18:51.280 --> 0:18:54.560 That's pretty terrific. Now, what's the best response you've gotten 0:18:54.600 --> 0:18:59.760 from presenting your membership card to someone to get a discount. Well, 0:19:00.440 --> 0:19:05.160 the best response and for me, has been getting out 0:19:05.160 --> 0:19:09.680 of about six different speeding tickets by the California Highway Patrol. 0:19:11.680 --> 0:19:15.479 I'm not kidney. We get upgrades and hotels by simply 0:19:16.040 --> 0:19:19.680 showing the membership card and saying, well we we usually 0:19:19.720 --> 0:19:22.399 get an upgrade at no charge. But I held it 0:19:22.480 --> 0:19:27.480 up in the window as the police officer walked up 0:19:27.520 --> 0:19:32.560 and said driver's license and insurance proof, and I said, oh, officer, 0:19:32.640 --> 0:19:37.560 with a smile on my face, very enthusiastically, no tickets please. 0:19:37.640 --> 0:19:43.800 It's been Anta Club. I've had several dozen members report 0:19:45.359 --> 0:19:52.160 success in getting discounts at restaurants, special favors at hotels, 0:19:53.040 --> 0:19:55.719 and you name it. If you ask, you know, if 0:19:55.720 --> 0:19:58.679 you're not afraid to ask, you'll you'll get something if 0:19:58.720 --> 0:20:01.040 you're pleasant about it. I love how all of these 0:20:01.040 --> 0:20:04.160 benefits have nothing to do with like getting more bananas. 0:20:04.200 --> 0:20:06.560 It's just that these are even better than that though. 0:20:06.560 --> 0:20:09.239 It's pretty great. Now. You you were on the you 0:20:09.240 --> 0:20:11.320 were on the Tonight Show a few years back, and 0:20:11.920 --> 0:20:14.840 on the show you were showing some alternate uses for bananas. 0:20:14.840 --> 0:20:19.320 So can you tell us a little bit about that? Yes, 0:20:19.760 --> 0:20:22.560 every morning, I have one finger one banana, that's the 0:20:22.680 --> 0:20:26.639 term for one banana. And uh. Then I take the 0:20:26.680 --> 0:20:30.879 peel and I rub it across my teeth and it 0:20:30.960 --> 0:20:33.440 will if you know to do this on a regular basis, 0:20:33.480 --> 0:20:37.159