# Is it wierd to build your own hand of bananas? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 13, 2018, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wierd-to-build-your-own-hand-of-bananas/822910 "2018-10-13T19:35:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2018, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wierd-to-build-your-own-hand-of-bananas/822910/1 "2018-10-13T19:35:29Z")
I’m not a huge lover of bananas, but lately I have been in the mood for them. So I have been buying them. But they have such a short optimal ripeness, existing hands are not of much use. Why would I want 5 bananas that are ripe today, or five that will be ripe in 4 days? So I just mix and match, One from a hand ripe today, one that will be ripe tomorrow, a few fairly green for proper ripeness later in the week. One of my friends said I was crazy, that nobody does that. But i have trouble believing that it’s all that weird. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2018, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wierd-to-build-your-own-hand-of-bananas/822910/2 "2018-10-13T19:50:42Z")
I’ve never heard a bunch called a “hand.” I thought you were doing some sort of eccentric food art. (And no, I’ve never done that–at most I’d buy more than one bunch at different stages of ripeness.) ---
**Author:** ![Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/channing_idaho_banks/32/250_2.png) [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Channing_Idaho_Banks)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2018, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wierd-to-build-your-own-hand-of-bananas/822910/3 "2018-10-13T20:02:27Z")
I do it but it’s easy to forget which is which when they start to ripen. ---
**Author:** ![araminty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5e925/32.png) [@araminty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/araminty)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2018, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wierd-to-build-your-own-hand-of-bananas/822910/4 "2018-10-13T20:14:35Z")
It’s totally a thing, continue to do so should you wish. Your friend is wrong to mock you. Some stores in South Korea sell them presorted thusly: [Bananas Are Being Sold in Ripeness Variety Packs](https://www.thisisinsider.com/bananas-sold-in-ripeness-variety-problem-solved-2018-8) ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Mapp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miss_mapp/32/369_2.png) [@Miss\_Mapp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Mapp)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2018, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wierd-to-build-your-own-hand-of-bananas/822910/5 "2018-10-13T20:26:04Z")
I do that if I’m buying 3 or 4 bananas for work-breakfast for the week. If I get them all ripe, one or two would be spotty and squishy by Friday, but buying them all green would mean trying to eat something not-yet ready early in the week. So, one or two of each and it all balances out! ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2018, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wierd-to-build-your-own-hand-of-bananas/822910/6 "2018-10-13T20:31:55Z")
I don’t buy them that often, but when I do I do it exactly as you describe. It makes perfect sense. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2018, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wierd-to-build-your-own-hand-of-bananas/822910/7 "2018-10-13T21:47:46Z")
I get them green, and by the time I get home they are rotten. ---
**Author:** ![Alpha\_Twit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alpha_twit/32/265_2.png) [@Alpha\_Twit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpha_Twit)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2018, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wierd-to-build-your-own-hand-of-bananas/822910/8 "2018-10-13T21:53:29Z")
I’ve got no problem with it. Buy the one you like. I’m slightly perplexed by being that selective regarding stages of banana ripeness but hey, whatever floats your boat. I can appreciate bananas from the mostly green stage to the “I really should’ve made banana bread yesterday” stage. That’s just me though. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2018, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wierd-to-build-your-own-hand-of-bananas/822910/9 "2018-10-13T21:56:25Z")
Buying separate bananas makes sense for the reasons described above. But ‘build your hand’ implies you’re…what, wiring them together somehow before taking them to the checkout? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2018, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wierd-to-build-your-own-hand-of-bananas/822910/10 "2018-10-13T22:17:58Z")
> [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](#): > > I do it but it’s easy to forget which is which when they start to ripen. Sharpie. ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2018, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wierd-to-build-your-own-hand-of-bananas/822910/11 "2018-10-13T22:23:34Z")
I don’t buy bananas for myself, but as a kid I remember watching Mom pick out bananas exactly as described by the OP. The grocery stores we visited didn’t seem to have a problem with it. [This](http://www.lileks.com/institute/gallery/bananas/4.html) is the only context in which I’ve seen a grouping of bananas referred to as a “hand”. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2018, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wierd-to-build-your-own-hand-of-bananas/822910/12 "2018-10-13T22:24:17Z")
Heh! I never thought of that. I will be doing it the next time I buy bananas. I did know a bunch is called a ‘hand’. ETA learned about ‘hand’ from a crossword puzzle clue, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2018, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wierd-to-build-your-own-hand-of-bananas/822910/13 "2018-10-14T00:12:40Z")
And then there is _Hand Banana:_ \*Tonight... you.\* ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2018, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wierd-to-build-your-own-hand-of-bananas/822910/14 "2018-10-14T01:23:02Z")
I usually only get two levels of ripeness, not three, but same principle. And why would you need to mark them to keep track of which is which? Each day, you eat the one that’s ripest, and you can tell which one is ripest by looking at the rind. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2018, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wierd-to-build-your-own-hand-of-bananas/822910/15 "2018-10-14T01:40:00Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > I’ve never heard a bunch called a “hand.” I thought you were doing some sort of eccentric food art. I never thought I’d miss a hand so much. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2018, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wierd-to-build-your-own-hand-of-bananas/822910/16 "2018-10-14T01:52:17Z")
**wolfman** , can I ask where you’re from and if hand is the common term there? I like it, but I’ve never heard it befor; I’ve always called them bunches of bananas. Also, I don’t think it’s weird to pick one’s at different stages of ripeness. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2018, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wierd-to-build-your-own-hand-of-bananas/822910/17 "2018-10-14T01:55:20Z")
I’ve never heard of doing it that way, but whatever. Carry on! ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2018, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wierd-to-build-your-own-hand-of-bananas/822910/18 "2018-10-14T02:10:18Z")
I, also, knew it was a hand. Like Beck, probably from a crossword puzzle (or maybe a trivia event). mmm ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2018, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wierd-to-build-your-own-hand-of-bananas/822910/19 "2018-10-14T02:27:21Z")
It’s not “a hand of bananas”, it’s “a [face-hugging xenomorph](http://www.vulture.com/2012/10/prometheus-almost-had-a-facehugger-scene.html) of bananas”. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2018, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wierd-to-build-your-own-hand-of-bananas/822910/20 "2018-10-14T02:29:32Z")
I don’t because I go to the grocery store multiple times a week and only have a banana a day at the most. I even refrain from breaking off a banana from an existing bunch for fear of breaking one of the ends completely open. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wierd-to-build-your-own-hand-of-bananas/822910.md?page=2)