# Banana Holders serve a purpose? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 26, 2006, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banana-holders-serve-a-purpose/341722 "2006-01-26T17:46:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mint\_Julep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bc79bd/32.png) [@Mint\_Julep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mint_Julep)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2006, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banana-holders-serve-a-purpose/341722/1 "2006-01-26T17:46:43Z")
I am sure this is a really stupid question, but…Do bananan holders (that allow the fruit to hang from a hook) actually serve a purpose (i.e. keep fruit fresher, cause quicker/slower ripening) or are they purely decorative? I feel so stupid even asking this? :smack: ---
**Author:** ![DougC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2006, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banana-holders-serve-a-purpose/341722/2 "2006-01-26T17:50:22Z")
- - - Sort of. If you lay a big bunch of bananas on a flat surface like a table, the ones on the bottom get slightly crushed flat on a spot, and then they start to spoil at that spot. So yes, in a way it does help them last longer. ~ ---
**Author:** ![YaWanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/bbce88/32.png) [@YaWanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YaWanna)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2006, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banana-holders-serve-a-purpose/341722/3 "2006-01-26T18:27:43Z")
> [@DougC](#): > > - > - > - Sort of. If you lay a big bunch of bananas on a flat surface like a table, the ones on the bottom get slightly crushed flat on a spot, and then they start to spoil at that spot. So yes, in a way it does help them last longer. > ~ Another way of putting it: they prevent bruising. Bananas bruise easily - just handling them can cause cumulitive bruising. There are plenty of people who just will not eat a bruised banana. ---
**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2006, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banana-holders-serve-a-purpose/341722/4 "2006-01-26T18:31:02Z")
That’s the beauty of it. It doesn’t **do** anything. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2006, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banana-holders-serve-a-purpose/341722/5 "2006-01-26T18:31:44Z")
In addition to saving your bananas, the hook also saves any other fruit you have lying around. A ripening banana produced ethylene, which makes many fruits ripen (and spoil) quicker than normal. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2006, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banana-holders-serve-a-purpose/341722/6 "2006-01-26T18:35:03Z")
> [@Tapioca Dextrin](#): > > In addition to saving your bananas, the hook also saves any other fruit you have lying around. A ripening banana produced ethylene, which makes many fruits ripen (and spoil) quicker than normal. Well, your bananas will still produce the same amount of ethylene, they’ll just do it a few inches off your counter. Actually, I’ve heard this as a justification for the hooks as well. They claim that it allows air to circulate all around your bananas, giving a more even distribution of ethylene. Personally, I’ve never noticed my bananas going overripe in any uneven fashion. ---
**Author:** ![Mint\_Julep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bc79bd/32.png) [@Mint\_Julep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mint_Julep)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2006, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banana-holders-serve-a-purpose/341722/7 "2006-01-26T19:35:39Z")
Thanks all. I used to laugh at them in stores and thought good lord, What worthless gadget will they think of next? But I have been on a banana eating kick, and a co worker said I should get a banana hanger thingy…she thought it helped the fruit ripen or something. I did not argue because I did not have any idea. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2006, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banana-holders-serve-a-purpose/341722/8 "2006-01-26T20:21:52Z")
IIRC ethylene is heavier than air. Putting bananas in a traditional fruit bowl would not allow the ethylene to dissipate, ripening the bananas faster(?). Placing them on a banana hanger thingy might make them ripen slower. ---
**Author:** ![davmilasav](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9bcb4/32.png) [@davmilasav](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davmilasav)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2006, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banana-holders-serve-a-purpose/341722/9 "2006-01-26T20:22:59Z")
I use them to hold my keys.