For a long time slipping on a banana peel has been a slapstick staple. As a kid I found this hilarious. The slipping on the banana peel, not the fact that other people thought it was funny. Although now that I write it, I think it is funny how often someone used to slip on a banana peel in these old comedic bits.
Anyway. Have you ever tried to slip on a banana peel? Well as a kid a tried to slide over the floor, with zero success. You can try it.
And do you know why that is? Better floors?
Nope.
Different Bananas. Yes, I am serious. Back until about the 60s the so-called Gros Michel (aka Big Mike) was the Banana everybody ate. Unfortunately, it became pretty much extinct due to Panama Disease, which apparently didn’t affect the Cavendish Banana, the banana we eat today. Apart from allegedly tasting more like banana, the Big Mike was was also more slippery because it had a thicker skin which retained more moisture.
So there you have it.