Leave it to the Ethicurean to turn one of the world’s great comedy props into a serious political issue. Dear me, they increase our carbon footprint! Oh, noes, a banana crisis looms! Okay, they had a little help from the stuffy old New York Times, but still, how can anybody stand reading this about Bananas:
The history of the banana is fascinating, involving technological innovation (it’s not easy to bring bananas from the tropics), oppression (terrible labor conditions), geopolitics (the U.S. sponsored overthrow of the Arbenz government in 1954 at the behest of United Fruit), marketing (bananas were too phallic for polite society in the late 19th century, so attitudes needed to be modified), and more.
Snorezville, right? Yes, yes, there are real issues about bananas and their associated republics and also their environmental impact, but what do we cares? It’s all about the comedy, right? So just because it’s Friday and we like you, reader, here are some videos that remind us where bananas really fit into the national psyche:
The banana telephone bit ranks right up there with pretending to walk down the stairs behind a counter. It’s even got its own song:
More after the jump
Here’s a gigantic banana scaring mall customers. Would this be as funny if it were a cucumber? No:
You’re writing a comedy bit and you don’t have a punchline? Just stick a banana in there. Instant funny:
And, of course, slipping on a banana peel!
Finally, the world gets turned upside down:
The banana situation in Montreal [Ethicurean]
The slippery slope of banana disasters [Ethicurean]
Yes, We Will Have No Bananas [New York Times]
