22 Banana Facts You Won't Believe

By Karin Lehnardt, Senior Writer

Published March 15, 2023

In an attempt to curb explicit live-streaming sites, China banned people from "seductively" eating bananas online in 2016._[4]
A cluster of bananas is called a "hand," with each banana known as a "finger."_[6]
The word "banana" comes from the Arabic word banan, which means “finger."_[6]
Bananas can help boost your mood. They have a high level of tryptophan, which helps produce serotonin and melatonin. Bananas also have vitamin B6 and magnesium, which help improve sleep and relax muscles, respectively._[1]
A banana peel is called a banana skin in British English._[6]
One food blogger polarized the Internet after she suggested using banana peels as a substitute for pulled pork when making burgers._[3]

Around 100 billion bananas are eaten around the world each year

Worldwide, bananas are the 4th most popular agricultural product._[6]
While rare in the United States, cooking with banana peels is common in Venezuelan, Indian, and Southeast Asian cuisine._[3]
In the mid-19th century, banana peels were considered to be a public health hazard. People would throw peels into the street, which then would rot and become a gooey mess for people to step in. The slipping and falling reputation led to the banana-peel gag in comedy shows._[9]
A team of Japanese researchers studied why bananas are slippery when stepped on. They published their unsurprising findings in a paper titled "Frictional Coefficient under Banana Skin," which won an Ig Nobel Prize (a satirical prize awarded to scientific research that makes people laugh and think)._[2]
While most people peel their bananas from the stem down, the correct way is to peel from the bottom up._[8]
The Anarchist Cookbook (1971) contains a recipe for extracting a fictional chemical from bananas called "bananadine." This chemical was rumored to be a psychoactive substance, which is associated with the 1966 song "Mellow Yellow."_[5]
More songs are written about bananas than any other fruit._[9]

Songs about bananas include "The Banana Boat Song," "Yes, We Have No Bananas," "I Like Bananas," and "Banana Phone"

Banana peels are not only edible, they are also full of several key nutrients, such as potassium, polyunsaturated fat, and essential amino acids._[12]
Banana peels make up approximately 35% of a ripe banana, which is a larger proportion than most fruit. Eating banana peels is not only healthy but it also reduces food waste._[9]
The Big Banana Car is a 23-foot-long converted F-150 truck designed to look like a banana. It has a top speed of 85 mph._[10]
There are about 1,000 varieties of bananas in the world._[6]

Are bananas a fruit or berry or herb?

Bananas are a berry, not a fruit. The plant itself is classified as a perennial herb._[6]
Humans share bout 50% of their DNA with bananas._[6]
The scientific name for the banana is Musa saspientum, which means "fruit of the wise men."_[9]
A man named Manual Kabana, from Spain, grew the largest bunch of bananas on record, as documented on July 11, 2001. The bunch contained 473 bananas and weighed 287 pounds (130 kg)._[7]
In 2022, fruit producer Fresh Del Monte and the supermarket chain Jewel-Osco used over 70,000 pounds (31,751 kg) of bananas to create the world's largest fruit display on record. They dubbed the display "Banana Bonanza."_[11]