# Hallucinogenic banana skins is a misconception that must die blame Berkeley Barb **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 5, 2009, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hallucinogenic-banana-skins-is-a-misconception-that-must-die-blame-berkeley-barb/488377 "2009-03-05T12:35:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2009, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hallucinogenic-banana-skins-is-a-misconception-that-must-die-blame-berkeley-barb/488377/1 "2009-03-05T12:35:33Z")
This just sort of fell into my lap this morning. I’ve seen it pop up on the boards enough times recently that I want to post these links. [Banana skins and other hoaxes.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berkeley_Barb) [Will banana peels get you high?](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2389/will-smoking-banana-peels-get-you-high) For those not old enough let me explain that in the 60’s it would have been hilarious to the readership of this type of paper to see the government ban banana peel smoking. Most of the young people would have found this hilarious. I just wish it hadn’t become a 40 plus year old fact that many people believe to this day. Banana skins are not hallucinogenic. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2009, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hallucinogenic-banana-skins-is-a-misconception-that-must-die-blame-berkeley-barb/488377/2 "2009-03-05T12:44:28Z")
I guess the lesson here is, hippies were generally very, very credulous and maybe not so smart. And the same goes for their kids. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2009, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hallucinogenic-banana-skins-is-a-misconception-that-must-die-blame-berkeley-barb/488377/3 "2009-03-05T12:50:47Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I guess the lesson here is, hippies **were** generally very, very credulous and maybe not so smart. “Were”? They _are_ incredibly credulous, and it’s the worst thing about them. They believe anything at all someone tells them, even if it contradicts what they already believe themselves. It’s endlessly frustrating listening to their mad ideas. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2009, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hallucinogenic-banana-skins-is-a-misconception-that-must-die-blame-berkeley-barb/488377/4 "2009-03-05T13:03:45Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > “Were”? They _are_ incredibly credulous, and it’s the worst thing about them. No, the worst thing is the self-righteousness. 😉 Credulousness is only second worst, but that’s still pretty bad - the Earth Mother stuff, the half-digested Eastern stuff, the conspiracy theories… anyway, yes, you’re right that some of them are still that way. My father apparently believed until recently (or maybe he still does) the “cops can’t lie about being cops” thing. I’m not sure how he got through the 60s and 70s without a huge rap sheet. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2009, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hallucinogenic-banana-skins-is-a-misconception-that-must-die-blame-berkeley-barb/488377/5 "2009-03-05T16:24:37Z")
> [@](#): > > I guess the lesson here is, hippies were generally very, very credulous and maybe not so smart. And the same goes for their kids. It’s not the hippies – the REAL credulous ones were the media outlets that spread the story. Even as a kid, I heard this one – and not from hippies. (And MAD magazine, through a Don Martin comic, held it up to ridicule.) ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2009, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hallucinogenic-banana-skins-is-a-misconception-that-must-die-blame-berkeley-barb/488377/6 "2009-03-05T17:04:13Z")
Don’t forget the Dead Milkmen resurrecting the idea in the 80s. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2009, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hallucinogenic-banana-skins-is-a-misconception-that-must-die-blame-berkeley-barb/488377/7 "2009-03-05T17:32:52Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > It’s not the hippies – the REAL credulous ones were the media outlets that spread the story. Even as a kid, I heard this one – and not from hippies. Good point. Who cares if it’s true as long as it sounds interesting! By the way, did you hear you can get herpes from playing beer pong? :smack: ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2009, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hallucinogenic-banana-skins-is-a-misconception-that-must-die-blame-berkeley-barb/488377/8 "2009-03-05T20:47:54Z")
No hippie seriously believed bananas were hallucinogenic. It always was a joke – and even the media reported it as such. But in all time periods, there are people who don’t understand the concept of a joke. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2009, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hallucinogenic-banana-skins-is-a-misconception-that-must-die-blame-berkeley-barb/488377/9 "2009-03-05T21:31:49Z")
In all time periods there are people that are suckers and pass on gossip as fact. I really don’t believe it was the people using drugs that kept this alive. It’s the people that don’t do recreational drugs and are gullible that spread the banana farce. ---
**Author:** ![Astroboy14](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/df705f/32.png) [@Astroboy14](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Astroboy14)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2009, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hallucinogenic-banana-skins-is-a-misconception-that-must-die-blame-berkeley-barb/488377/10 "2009-03-05T21:40:01Z")
My friends and I never believed it. (Didn’t stop us from trying it during the Great Pot Drought of '86, tho…) ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2009, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hallucinogenic-banana-skins-is-a-misconception-that-must-die-blame-berkeley-barb/488377/11 "2009-03-05T21:45:03Z")
Next I suppose you’ll be telling me the killer buzz I get from letting the cat piss in my face is just a placebo effect? ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hallucinogenic-banana-skins-is-a-misconception-that-must-die-blame-berkeley-barb/488377/12 "2009-03-06T00:24:00Z")
> [@Harmonious\_Discord](#): > > Banana skins are not hallucinogenic. You’re just not getting your bananas from the right place, man. Like seriously, you should talk to your banana dealer. I think you’re getting cheated. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hallucinogenic-banana-skins-is-a-misconception-that-must-die-blame-berkeley-barb/488377/13 "2009-03-06T00:36:48Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > Next I suppose you’ll be telling me the killer buzz I get from letting the cat piss in my face is just a placebo effect? No Kenny. Cat piss in the face is a real trip, but the trips contain adult content. ---
**Author:** ![Bamboo\_Boy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@Bamboo\_Boy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bamboo_Boy)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hallucinogenic-banana-skins-is-a-misconception-that-must-die-blame-berkeley-barb/488377/14 "2009-03-06T12:56:50Z")
A roommate of mine once had a copy of the Anarchist’s Cookbook, where I first heard about the banana peel thing. It was written unambiguously as fact, as far as I remember. I suspect this is where a lot of people got that belief from. I sort of dismissed on grounds of ‘just too good to be true’. Sort of. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hallucinogenic-banana-skins-is-a-misconception-that-must-die-blame-berkeley-barb/488377/15 "2009-03-06T13:19:34Z")
I remember when the Hallucinogenic Bananna Peels opened for Iron Butterfly. It was awesome. And I love threads that slam the boomers. It lets me know that I’m not alone in my loathing. [Tic Toc…](http://www.boomerdeathcounter.com/) ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2009, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hallucinogenic-banana-skins-is-a-misconception-that-must-die-blame-berkeley-barb/488377/16 "2009-03-07T14:49:09Z")
> [@Bamboo\_Boy](#): > > A roommate of mine once had a copy of the Anarchist’s Cookbook Well, there’s his problem. The title “Anarchist Cookbook” (or “Anarchist’s Cookbook” or “Anarchists’s Cookbook” and so on) has been applied to any number of collections of random destructive information, with the sole constant that all of it has been anywhere from laughably wrong to dangerously misleading. There’s a certain entertainment value in those heinous little tracts, but very little scientific worth in any form. [The real history of the “Anarchist Cookbook” and subsequent ripoffs.](http://www.righto.com/anarchy/) [Various critiques of the original book.](http://www.spunk.org/cookbook.html) ---
**Author:** ![Karyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/fbc32d/32.png) [@Karyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Karyn)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2009, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hallucinogenic-banana-skins-is-a-misconception-that-must-die-blame-berkeley-barb/488377/17 "2009-03-07T15:02:28Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > No hippie seriously believed bananas were hallucinogenic. It always was a joke – and even the media reported it as such. > > But in all time periods, there are people who don’t understand the concept of a joke. Yep - it was always a joke to us but there was always some fool who thought we were serious. It was the same with the really spaced out cosmic babblers - we were laughing at them too, if a bit more kindly. ---
**Author:** ![Tenar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@Tenar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tenar)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2009, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hallucinogenic-banana-skins-is-a-misconception-that-must-die-blame-berkeley-barb/488377/18 "2009-03-07T21:16:13Z")
> [@Hypno-Toad](#): > > And I love threads that slam the boomers. It lets me know that I’m not alone in my loathing. Because _everyone_ born over a period of \*\*18 YEARS \*\*is exactly the same, and thus equally loathsome? Good grief, that’s even worse than astrology. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2009, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hallucinogenic-banana-skins-is-a-misconception-that-must-die-blame-berkeley-barb/488377/19 "2009-03-16T17:09:24Z")
> [@Tenar](#): > > Because _everyone_ born over a period of \*\*18 YEARS \*\*is exactly the same, and thus equally loathsome? > > Good grief, that’s even worse than astrology. As a group, the boomers suck. I judge individuals on their own merit. The astrology reference is such a non-sequitor as to be irrelevant and pointless. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2009, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hallucinogenic-banana-skins-is-a-misconception-that-must-die-blame-berkeley-barb/488377/20 "2009-03-16T17:26:35Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > No, the worst thing is the self-righteousness. 😉 Credulousness is only second worst, but that’s still pretty bad - the Earth Mother stuff, the half-digested Eastern stuff, the conspiracy theories… anyway, yes, you’re right that some of them are still that way. My father apparently believed until recently (or maybe he still does) the “cops can’t lie about being cops” thing. I’m not sure how he got through the 60s and 70s without a huge rap sheet. 😛 Funny - I thought the worst thing was the smell. I _hate_ petrulli. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hallucinogenic-banana-skins-is-a-misconception-that-must-die-blame-berkeley-barb/488377.md?page=2)