# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2018, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wierd-to-build-your-own-hand-of-bananas/822910/21 "2018-10-14T02:30:03Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > **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. From Colorado originally. That’s what my granma (from Nebraska) called them, ergo it is the correct term. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2018, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wierd-to-build-your-own-hand-of-bananas/822910/22 "2018-10-14T02:44:46Z")
I always do it. ---
**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 14, 2018, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wierd-to-build-your-own-hand-of-bananas/822910/23 "2018-10-14T02:51:23Z")
On a somewhat related note, not long ago I bought a _really_ green bunch of bananas. Left them sitting for days with no obvious change, thought maybe they had been picked too green and maybe the skin color would never change but the inside would ripen. Broke one open and it snapped like a crisp apple and a small taste showed it was bitter. Tried it again a few days later with the same result. Thought that maybe I should just throw the remaing bananas away because they would never be ripe, but they finally ripened after _three weeks_. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2018, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wierd-to-build-your-own-hand-of-bananas/822910/24 "2018-10-14T03:30:13Z")
I believe the proper term is _hammock of bananas._ ---
**Author:** ![Chicken\_Fingers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Chicken\_Fingers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chicken_Fingers)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2018, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wierd-to-build-your-own-hand-of-bananas/822910/25 "2018-10-14T03:49:29Z")
I also took the question literally. Never heard of the term. But no, I wouldn’t think it weird. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2018, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wierd-to-build-your-own-hand-of-bananas/822910/26 "2018-10-14T03:50:13Z")
I’ve always seen a bunch of bananas, as in the type on display at a grocery store, described as a “hand.” Buying individual bananas in the way the OP described is no different from people choosing apples or oranges out of a bin, when they are charging by weight. ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2018, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wierd-to-build-your-own-hand-of-bananas/822910/27 "2018-10-14T04:24:02Z")
I thought you were playing some kind of banana poker. Getting dealt a good or bad hand of bananas… Three of a kind… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2018, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wierd-to-build-your-own-hand-of-bananas/822910/28 "2018-10-14T04:38:59Z")
If you just pick up two joined bananas it’s Texas banana holdem. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2018, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wierd-to-build-your-own-hand-of-bananas/822910/29 "2018-10-14T10:22:00Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Thought that maybe I should just throw the remaing bananas away because they would never be ripe, but they finally ripened after _three weeks_. Put an Apple with them. Anyway, there were four kids and we were living in the tropics: Dad brought home a /bunch/ of bananas. A Banana ./bunch/. A stem with a flower, that he hung under the stairs. And we picked the /hands/ as they ripened going up the stem (up? down? I can’t remember). _That’s_ how you get a supply of ripening 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, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wierd-to-build-your-own-hand-of-bananas/822910/30 "2018-10-14T11:17:40Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > If you just pick up two joined bananas it’s Texas banana holdem. Whatever you do, do NOT Google that phrase :eek: 😉 ---
**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 14, 2018, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wierd-to-build-your-own-hand-of-bananas/822910/31 "2018-10-14T11:22:28Z")
> [@Melbourne](#): > > Put an Apple with them. Will an iPod work or does it have to be at least an iPhone? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2018, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wierd-to-build-your-own-hand-of-bananas/822910/32 "2018-10-14T12:39:18Z")
Wow. I just buy some bananas. I eat one, my gf eats one, the bird eats one. If any get too ripe I peel, halve, baggie, and freeze. Frozen bananas get used in daiquiris or smoothies. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2018, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wierd-to-build-your-own-hand-of-bananas/822910/33 "2018-10-14T14:30:31Z")
Overripe bananas are perfect for peanut butter & banana sandwiches. Squish and lightly mix with a fork. Spread on two pieces of bread. I prefer my bread toasted. I brought one to grade school in my lunch box for many years. I buy a full bunch of green bananas. We easily finish them before they go bad. ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2018, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wierd-to-build-your-own-hand-of-bananas/822910/34 "2018-10-14T16:09:54Z")
> [@Melbourne](#): > > Put an Apple with them. > > Anyway, there were four kids and we were living in the tropics: Dad brought home a /bunch/ of bananas. A Banana ./bunch/. A stem with a flower, that he hung under the stairs. And we picked the /hands/ as they ripened going up the stem (up? down? I can’t remember). > > _That’s_ how you get a supply of ripening bananas 🙂 A guy like me from a northern country (well, he IS me) would be surprised to learn that bananas grow “stem end down” (it’s not really the plant’s stem of course). It appears gravity-defying-ish, if you’ve never seen the plant they come from. (I haven’t seen, I just have this isolated fact in my head that says “Heh. Bananas grow ‘the other way up’. Who knew?”) So, it depends which way they were hanging, under your stairs. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2018, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wierd-to-build-your-own-hand-of-bananas/822910/35 "2018-10-14T17:50:06Z")
One place we go to has large signs saying you can’t split up bunches at all. So if you want 3 and there are no 3 or less ones, tough. Our solution: stick the remaining ones in the fridge when they get ripe. Where’s my Nobel Prize? ---
**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, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wierd-to-build-your-own-hand-of-bananas/822910/36 "2018-10-14T17:56:48Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > One place we go to has large signs saying you can’t split up bunches at all. What is the penalty for unauthorized bunch splitting? Do security guards drag you out the back and beat you senseless with cucumbers? ---
**Author:** ![Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/face_intentionally_left_blank/32/288_2.png) [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Face_Intentionally_Left_Blank)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2018, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wierd-to-build-your-own-hand-of-bananas/822910/37 "2018-10-14T18:11:27Z")
I’m always worried about breaking rules and norms. For years I bought a small bunch and waited for them to ripen the way I like it. Then the last couple would be overripe or get thrown out. The past year or so, I started picking out single bananas from the ‘loose banana’ pile. I’d try to get different ripeness bananas from there. After awhile, I think I saw someone breaking off bananas from different bunches so I started picking single bananas off of bunches. I’d pick a banana here and there, trying not to leave small bunches of 2 or 3. I suppose there’s a demand for small bunches, but it didn’t seen right to do that somehow. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2018, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wierd-to-build-your-own-hand-of-bananas/822910/38 "2018-10-14T18:41:31Z")
I eat one with breakfast every morning, so I try to buy 7 at different stages of ripeness. I don’t break up existing bunches but there are usually plenty of singles laying around. From the thread title, I too thought that you were doing some weird sort of banana art. (By the way; you misspelled weird.) Personally, I call them a foot of bananas. Okay, not really. I call them a bunch. ---
**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, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wierd-to-build-your-own-hand-of-bananas/822910/39 "2018-10-14T19:50:01Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > What is the penalty for unauthorized bunch splitting? Do security guards drag you out the back and beat you senseless with cucumbers? They send the Hot Cops after you. And a construction worker. Stranger ---
**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 14, 2018, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wierd-to-build-your-own-hand-of-bananas/822910/40 "2018-10-14T20:34:56Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > They send the Hot Cops after you. And a construction worker. > > Stranger Just be thankful that it isn’t [the fruit ninjas](https://soranews24.com/2018/10/06/fukuoka-senior-arrested-for-stealing-a-single-grape-denies-charges/). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wierd-to-build-your-own-hand-of-bananas/822910.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wierd-to-build-your-own-hand-of-bananas/822910.md?page=3)