# A question about bananas **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 18, 2016, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-bananas/760245 "2016-07-18T20:35:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2016, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-bananas/760245/1 "2016-07-18T20:35:17Z")
In the classic animated Disney film _The Jungle Book,_ Baloo the bear grabs a banana and then pulls down the entire tree so that Mowgli, the human child, can grab a banana for himself. When he opens the peel, he sees that there’s nothing in there. That doesn’t happen in real life, right? It’s just a cutesy thing they did for the movie? I hope this question isn’t too dumb for GQ. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2016, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-bananas/760245/2 "2016-07-18T20:49:52Z")
> [@ekedolphin](#): > > In the classic animated Disney film _The Jungle Book,_ Baloo the bear grabs a banana and then pulls down the entire tree so that Mowgli, the human child, can grab a banana for himself. When he opens the peel, he sees that there’s nothing in there. > > That doesn’t happen in real life, right? It’s just a cutesy thing they did for the movie? > > I hope this question isn’t too dumb for GQ. If you look closely you’ll se that what happens is that the actual banana remains with the bunch when Baloo let’s go of the banana-plant. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08NlhjpVFsU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08NlhjpVFsU) Still not something that would happen in real life though, unless someone cut through the skin at just the right spot, and even then it wouldn’t just fall open in Mowgli’s hand. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2016, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-bananas/760245/3 "2016-07-18T20:56:59Z")
Right. The peel is attached too tightly for it to come off so cleanly while leaving the banana intact on the tree. Neither are bananas going to fall off the bunch (as near the end of the scene) unless they are really over-ripe. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2016, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-bananas/760245/4 "2016-07-18T21:01:47Z")
Also, in real life Baloo the bear would either kill Mowgli or ignore him. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2016, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-bananas/760245/5 "2016-07-18T21:39:53Z")
Do they have bears in India? ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2016, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-bananas/760245/6 "2016-07-18T21:51:28Z")
Also, bears don’t talk and dance and sing. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2016, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-bananas/760245/7 "2016-07-18T21:57:21Z")
> [@md2000](#): > > Do they have bears in India? Yes, the Sloth Bear, the Sun Bear, and the Asian Black Bear. Maybe others. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2016, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-bananas/760245/8 "2016-07-19T19:07:24Z")
According to the old joke, “Once you peel 'em and core 'em, there’s nothing left.” ---
**Author:** ![TwoCarrotSnowman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/twocarrotsnowman/32/15879_2.png) [@TwoCarrotSnowman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwoCarrotSnowman)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2016, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-bananas/760245/9 "2016-07-19T19:19:15Z")
Since the question has been answered, a fun trick to do, if you are seriously easily amused, is thread a needle with very fine thread. If you’re careful, you can pierce the banana skin and use the thread to slice the banana internally, a bit like keyhole surgery. If you take care to place the puncture points on the black bits of the skin, they’re not that noticeable. The hilarious result is that when your victim peels his banana _it’s already sliced!_ Note that I was shown this trick when I was about seven years old, and haven’t used it since. It’s possible that it’s not as awesome as I remember. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2016, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-bananas/760245/10 "2016-07-19T19:35:03Z")
PS Don’t eat those things…they are radioactive as crap. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2016, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-bananas/760245/11 "2016-07-19T19:44:49Z")
> [@TwoCarrotSnowman](#): > > If you’re careful, you can pierce the banana skin and use the thread to slice the banana internally, a bit like keyhole surgery. How do you slice the banana without slicing the peel? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2016, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-bananas/760245/12 "2016-07-19T20:06:13Z")
> [@Gary\_T](#): > > How do you slice the banana without slicing the peel? [Here.](http://www.wikihow.com/Slice-a-Banana-Before-It-Is-Peeled) It describes methods using a needle alone, and a needle and thread. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2016, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-bananas/760245/13 "2016-07-19T23:13:37Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > PS > > Don’t eat those things…they are radioactive as crap. How radioactive is crap? I’ve been crapping my whole life, so it can’t be that bad. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2016, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-bananas/760245/14 "2016-07-20T00:37:02Z")
> [@snfaulkner](#): > > How radioactive is crap? I’ve been crapping my whole life, so it can’t be that bad. Do you want to know how the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles _really_ mutated? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2016, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-bananas/760245/15 "2016-07-21T18:35:20Z")
> [@naita](#): > > If you look closely you’ll se that what happens is that the actual banana remains with the bunch when Baloo let’s go of the banana-plant. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08NlhjpVFsU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08NlhjpVFsU) > > Still not something that would happen in real life though, unless someone cut through the skin at just the right spot, and even then it wouldn’t just fall open in Mowgli’s hand. Oh, good; when I saw this thread had gotten so many replies, I was like, “13 people think I’m a moron now.” (Of course, the true number is higher than that.) ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2016, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-bananas/760245/16 "2016-07-21T18:48:58Z")
When I was a young kid watching cartoons I didn’t believe that banana peels would really cause you to trip for some reason so I laid one out on the kitchen floor and took a step onto it, boy were those cartoons accurate. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2016, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-bananas/760245/17 "2016-07-21T19:06:14Z")
> [@pool](#): > > When I was a young kid watching cartoons I didn’t believe that banana peels would really cause you to trip for some reason so I laid one out on the kitchen floor and took a step onto it, boy were those cartoons accurate. That one is definitely true-it’s the one about stepping on the end of the rake and having it pop up and hitting you in the face that’s absolutely guaranteed not true. Go ahead and try it! ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2016, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-bananas/760245/18 "2016-07-21T19:23:05Z")
The question is why banana peels became such a widespread trope for “things people slip on”, as opposed to various other slippery objects, which are arguably more likely to be lying around where people walk. I read somewhere that banana peels were sometimes used as cheap shoe polish (and surprisingly to me, Google confirms that is still apparently a common practice). This have led to an association in people’s minds between banana peels and shoes. –Mark