Original photo by Vanessa Loring/ Pexels
Considering most fruits have a spherical or ovate shape, the average banana’s long, curved appearance is something of an anomaly. This unique curvature is due to a scientific concept called negative geotropism, where the stem flexes upward as the plant grows, rather than being pulled straight down by the forces of gravity. While most fruits simply absorb sunlight and grow downward toward or into the earth, bananas begin to curve as they strive to find sufficient sunlight to fuel their growth. This has to do with the unique presence of photosensitive hormones called auxins, which influence how bananas react to light.
Oops, incorrect!
It's a factBananas contain naturally occurring radionuclides, particularly the potassium-40 isotope. But eating a single banana provides an infinitesimal dose of about 0.01 millirems of radiation. In other words, you’d need to eat 274 bananas every day for seven years to develop radiation poisoning.
Some bananas grow in lush rainforests with dense canopies, which can obscure the fruit from getting enough light. In these cases, bananas will grow toward the sky to break through the light-blocking canopy. But negative geotropism still occurs even in other environments where there’s plenty of direct sunlight. The auxins are distributed unevenly along the side of the banana facing the sun, triggering accelerated growth on that side and causing the fruit to curve away from the earth’s gravitational pull.
In the very early stages of development, bananas actually grow at a straight downward angle, only developing their signature shape later on. As the fruit matures, it will begin to flex upward in search of additional sustenance. But even as this happens, gravitational forces will continue to pull the banana down toward the ground and away from the sun. This combination is what ultimately gives bananas their distinct curve.
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A cluster of bananas is called a ______.
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A cluster of bananas is called a hand.
A visual artist once sold two bananas for $120,000 each.
In 2019, visual artist Maurizio Cattelan unveiled a conceptual piece titled “Comedian” at the Art Basel exhibition in Miami Beach. This unusual artistic work consisted of a banana that had been duct-taped to the wall. For years, Cattelan had dreamed of creating a sculpture in the shape of a banana; he often brought a banana with him on his travels and hung it on the wall for inspiration. But eventually, he gave up on the idea of creating a new sculpture and instead decided to exhibit the banana itself. He brought three editions of “Comedian” with him to Miami, two of which immediately sold for $120,000. Given the high level of interest, Cattelan raised the price of the third one to $150,000, which also promptly found a buyer. A week later, performance artist David Datuna ate one of the pricey fruits right off the wall, criticizing the artwork for embodying wealth inequality and food insecurity.
Bennett Kleinman is a New York City-based staff writer for Optimism Media, and previously contributed to television programs such as "Late Show With David Letterman" and "Impractical Jokers." Bennett is also a devoted New York Yankees and New Jersey Devils fan, and thinks plain seltzer is the best drink ever invented.
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