When I harvested my first crop of bananas I had grown in South Africa, I was carrying them down to the house on my right shoulder. I suddenly realized that I had dozens of baby spiders running all over my neck and right arm, and I realized to my horror that
there was a big mamma spider somewhere in those bananas. I lowered my shoulder, and put the whole load of bananas onto the ground. I then proceeded to rid the upper part of my body of the dozens of baby spiders that were running everywhere. I did find the big mommy spider hiding among the bananas!
In any event, when that ordeal was done,
I took them down to the porch and hung them from a large hook fastened to the rafters of the porch. I learned a few interesting things about bananas at that point. The first thing I discovered, at least with this variety of banana, was that they ripened from the bottom. As they turned yellow, we would pull them off and eat them. I found it fascinating that they didn't all ripen at the same time! In this way, we were able to enjoy them each day until the whole bunch was gone.
Here are some other interesting facts about bananas that you might not know...
- The banana peel has various interesting properties. For one thing, if a bite (like one from a mosquito) is rubbed with the inside of a banana peel, it can reduce the itch. You can also
polish leather with the inside of a banana peel!
- Bananas are actually berries! Their seeds are found on the inside of the fruit.
- Bananas contain no fat, sodium, or cholesterol.
- A banana tree is actually not a tree, but a herb!
It's in the same grouping as palms, lilies, and orchids!
- There are about 1,000 varieties of bananas found around the world.
- Bananas contain a huge amount of healthy nutrients, especially potassium.
Bananas are one of the most
consumed foods in the world, and in the fruit category, they rank third behind apples and oranges.
Evolution cannot explain the huge variety, colors, sizes, and flavors of foods that grow. That fact speaks only of a Designer!
