How Bananas Changed the World

[@TheHistoryGuyChannel]

Some people are questioning the claim that bananas are the world’s most popular fruit. Other sources claim tomatoes or mangos. The argument for bananas is made by National Geographic here: www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/urban-expeditions/food/food-journeys-graphic/

[@garycollins7750]

The History Guy: History Deserves to Be Remembered do a video on operation unthinkable the plan for the allies to fight the Soviet Union after fighting in Europe ended.

[@forestgreenhobbit]

Or watermelons? www.statista.com/statistics/264001/worldwide-production-of-fruit-by-variety/

[@forestgreenhobbit]

Didn't I hear somewhere that the Supreme Court of the United States has determined that tomatoes are not a fruit? en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nix_v._Hedden

[@bugman2509]

I think somewhere I heard that bananas were more precious than gold, or something like that, that only the very rich could afford their price, have not been able to verify this, but this would have also attributed to banana industry rise.

[@mcloutier5]

Just go to the grocery store and look . . . all year long, piles and piles of bananas are sold. I would tend to agree that, pound for pound, banana is the most popular fruit.

[@mellissadalby1402]

What makes this channel truly great is not only just the seemingly endless supply of interesting stories, but also the great joy expressed by the presenter. A cheer leader for History in action. Such a visceral motivation is contagious to the viewer. I have myself been ultimately affected.

[@skiptoacceptancemdarlin]

he drinks. that’s why it’s so nice.

[@YoYo-gt5iq]

​@@skiptoacceptancemdarlingotta stay hydrated

[@vickyyounghensley1269]

I've always been a history buff. And a trivia absorber long before the popularized game. I'm encroaching on 70 & still love to learn. So much of what is taught as history is war-related. But this channel even makes that more interesting because it isn't relegated to just being "written by the winners _.

[@jalapenohiway]

You're one of the very few people/channels that can make any topic into an addictively interesting story!........I sometimes binge watch your videos lol

[@greggi47]

I agree, The range of topics is amazing, and the quality of the vids is remarkably high, consistently.

[@andrewinbody4301]

Oh ya. The playlists cover every mood..

[@antiussentiment]

The power of the pretty tie. Actually I'm waiting for the history of Shibari video. ~ smiles ~

[@ztoob8898]

Right on. Couldn't agree more.

[@oncesubtle]

I'm afraid I've gone from binge to addiction. Too interesting and factual. Who could ask for more?

[@ninjanerdstudent6937]

I have never taken a history class in college. My last history class was in high school. This man makes history fascinating.

[@FredrickMoss5374]

He’s better than most of the college profs I had. And I was a history major

[@karynsuepohlmeier2109]

I love the History Guy! Brings more in ten minutes than The History channel brings in 24 hours!

[@matthewbennett9928]

Some of there documentaries are good.

[@CFITOMAHAWK2]

Karyn., That's stupid to post. Both are good in what they do.

[@capnzilog]

"Next up on the History Channel: WWII, Pt. 27. But first, UFO's."

[@yellowblanka6058]

I'm old enough to remember when the History Channel actually aired history programming and wasn't just 24/7 reality TV.

[@gloriaf6971]

​@@yellowblanka6058 You are right. The History Channel is trash TV now. It airs garbage most of the time!

[@stevenwalter3311]

This makes me miss living in Hawaii. I had about a dozen banana plants right outside my bedroom window. The wind blowing through the leaves sounded just like waves on the beach, and since I lived at 1,500 ft elevation, it was quite pleasant. I also miss eating varieties such as the apple banana (more firm flesh, not quite as sweet) and the ice cream banana (very soft flesh and tastes like vanilla ice cream). A friend of mine was in charge of a school garden, and was having problems with blight in her cavendish varieties.

[@multipletanksyndrome]

You also had your own story of fruit colonialism, with Dole and the pineapple.

[@j.c.mgomez2515]

As a Colombian I find it fascinating that you mentioned the banana massacre, it's usually not known and even less sited by none natives. It was such a crucial part of Colombian and South American history. In fact, a young Congressman named Jorge Eliecer Gaitan was one of the mayor delators of against the US involvement in the massacre, thus he was mysteriously assassinated when running for president a few months before elections; exacerbating the already rampant political violence sparking the still ongoing civil war around the country.. thank you for acknowledging it you just got a new patreon amazing channel! PS: Gabriel Garcia Marquez's books do mention the massacre and its implications highly recommend 100 years of solitude it's amazing.

[@ThePhantomSafetyPin]

This is the first I've heard of the banana massacre. I have heard of remarkable violence based around banana plantation workers being hurt or punished for not yielding quotas, but this is something I didn't realize was such a massive contributor to the current issues Columbia faces to this day.

[@shanidar]

@@ThePhantomSafetyPin Colombia

[@teebosaurusyou]

And in the end 'God Bless America!'

[@moodist1er]

@Bo Zo US were designed to indoctrinate, not educate.

[@kam70111]

@@ThePhantomSafetyPin You might have been added to this Planet of the Apes in the last few decades.

[@mikehenson819]

It amazing how one can eat a particular food during their life time, and never once consider where it comes from, or it's history. Thanks for enlightening me

[@AquaMarine1000]

To add to the history: In Australia by the 1920s the yellow banana called "Lady Finger" was grown in the coastal area of Sanford in southern Queensland. This huge banana industry was later wiped out by the banana disease "Bunchy Top", then the more disease resistant "Cavendish" banana was introduced into new growing areas. The Cavendish has become the saviour to the commercial banana growing areas of the world. The Lady Finger banana is regarded as one of the sweetest eating varieties and is still grown in small commerical quantities and by home gardens in Queensland. Also to add the Queensland banana industry was so big supplying bananas to comsumers all over Australia, Queenslanders were known in other parts of Australia as "Banana Benders" as the Lady Finger banana has a curved fruit. Australia is the only First World country growing commercial quantities of bananas and sugar cane. I do enjoy eating a Lady Finger 🍌. Cheers

[@uzetaab]

Just to add a little more. Today in Queensland, banana trees are highly regulated and you can get into trouble for planting an unapproved one in your backyard. The reason is because of the risk of spreading disease.

[@AquaMarine1000]

@uzetaab Also, the movement of many commercial plant stocks in and out of regulated areas. Cheers

[@timmcquerry6068]

Thanks for sharing! You added to Lance's interesting episode. 😊

[@moomama217]

Fascinating ❤

[@stephenphillip5656]

Another masterpiece from The History Guy. Interestingly, it stated on one of your slides that "it was believed that bananas caused stomach aches". I can assure you that some people (my sister in particular) are *allergic* to bananas. The smallest piece causes her excruciating stomach pains, enough to lay her low for hours. I'm not affected by bananas though & can eat them without ill-effects.

[@good__enough]

Reply to Steven Philip: I used to get a mild stomach ache from eating bananas when I was a child.

[@cheesenoodles8316]

One of your best. When I go into my history of banana lecture...complete with a verse of "yes we have no bananas"...they all run away. The last thing I squeeze in is a warning about the impending crises of the next banana blight. You really did pack in alot of great information and pictures in a tad over 14 minutes.

[@rdfox76]

Trivia note: United Fruit Company was so influential in the interwar years that, when the US Navy was disposing of some of the destroyers it had built during World War One during the Depression, United Fruit was allowed to buy three of them, not for scrapping, but for conversion into banana boats.

[@brinx8634]

They converted a fast slim destroyer, that is completely unsuited (useless) as a transport into.........a banana boat. Good story bro.

[@eddo1983]

They also were involved in the Bay Of Pigs invasion. They supplied a few boats to the Cuban Exiles.

[@kam70111]

I do not know about destroyers but yes fast petrol boats and torpedo boats.

[@leviwarren6222]

History Guy, you're my hero. I just listen to to a 15-minute video about the history of bananas and I actually feel like I learn something useful. Thank you.

[@dougsullivan3564]

You know honestly I would have paid to hear this in a lecture. The history you provide us is just so incredibly interesting!

[@TheHistoryGuyChannel]

Doug Sullivan watch the ad at the start and I do get paid. ;)

[@CallieMasters5000]

Check KZbin for longer documentaries on bananas, as I saw one that was 30-60 minutes long going into all the details that was very interesting. The banana republics essentially signed over their entire country to the fruit companies to run everything, as the benefits were so great, but it all got out of hand.

[@treborironwolfe]

@@TheHistoryGuyChannel Cheeky for an American professor, I like it ;) Oh, and by the way.. do you think it may have actually been a *banana* instead of an *apple* that started that mess with the whole garden and the ribs and the serpent and the tree of knowledge thing?

[@danielrodrigues2587]

@@TheHistoryGuyChannel - For clarity, if I watch the ads, you get paid? If that is the case, I will not be 'skipping' the ads anymore! Your presentation and delivery is exceptional. Thank you for the time and research to ensure that the story is told factually, and concisely.

[@Akeshane]

I finally found a history channel that didn't rely on cheesy jokes and pop-culture references. bravo. will subscribe.

[@scharftalicous]

I've heard a bunch of people tell the story of bananas but you nailed it. fantastic production

[@stevehansen5389]

My father was First Mate on a Norwegian refrigerated ship in the United Fruit Companies prewar "Great White Fleet" that brought bananas from Central America to the Port of Los Angeles. During WWII the ship and my Norwegian father were sent to the Atlantic to bring beef from Argentina to Brittan. Because the ship was fast it sailed independent of convoys. After the war the ship returned to the West Coast banana trade. Bt then my father had migrated to the US and was working ashore. Every now and then he would get homesick and take me down to San Pedro to visit the ship. The operation was amazing. The bananas were picked green on a certain date to be loaded on a ship on a specific date. The ship was expected to arrive on a particular day. The still green bananas were unloaded in the same state as they were picked, large bunches. They came of the ship in canvas slings suspended from a conveyor belt. Once inside they were sorted, boxed and sent out by refrigerated trains and trucks, arriving in grocery stores just as they were starting to turn yellow.

[@marcgarlasco]

You do a great job of taking a seemingly benign something and linking it throughout history.

[@jimsvideos7201]

You mean benigna?

[@mspysu79]

The banana also had a hand in the founding of what was once the largest electronics company in the United States RCA. Through a set of patents that the United Fruit Company held and then licensed to RCA in 1921, those patents along with ones from AT&T ( the Audion or vacuum tube), Westinghouse (Heterodyne receiving and transmitting) and Edwin Armstrong Regenerative receiving and the Superhetrodyne receiver) became RCA's patent base that would be leveraged into en empire.

[@danechristmas6570]

Growing up in the Caribbean, the Gros Michael was my absolute favorite! Every Saturday morning, my grandfather would go into the garden and bring back a bunch. Each banana was so big that whenever I had one my mom would cut it into halves and I'd still have some for later. My other favorite was one called "silk fig". It is a strange type of banana because it doesn't taste good off the tree,it must be harvested and then ripened. My goodness. It is very aromatic and tastes like a banana split.

[@harmonicresonanceproject]

These shows are just brilliant. Thanks History Guy!

[@benth162]

We live in San Diego and with our large Asian community and grocery stores, we have tried bananas that have background flavors like apple and strawberry. They are generally half the size of a large Cavendish, but are so sweet and flavorful, that we rarely go back to eating the rather flat tasting Cavendish, except when we don't have any other choice.

[@mtdover]

Gotta be the best historian I've ever heard of. The amount of research you do, and the speed you do it, is incredible. Keep up the great work.

[@gadnukbreakerofworlds3460]

0:32 Lol you can tell The History Guy was really happy with himself for that last clue. 😂 This is one of the Top 5 history related channels on KZbin. Keep up the great work!

[@SWOBIZ]

A truly dee-lightful and fascinating episode. Many thanks.

[@peterinbrat]

Plantains and other starch varieties are probably more important as a staple food in the tropics. They are good multitaskers as they get sweeter as they ripen and can also be used as a cooked dessert fruit. A big advantage of bananas is they can grow in very poor soil and they need very little effort to cultivate. As for Cavendish, the banana box is a very interesting engineering feat.

[@TheMoaterboat]

KZbin: Wanna watch a 14 minute video about bananas? Me: Uh, no. That sounds boring. KZbin: You sure? It's done by The History Guy... Me: Why didn't you say so? Let's learn about bananas!

[@artlovervictoria]

U.S. interventipn into the democrtaic nations of Meso America for their economic interests makes this video worth watching. We, today, are paying Karma when other countries get to intervine in our democracy. The assylum and economic waves of Latin Americans have roots in these oppressive U.S. interventions plus hundreds of thousands dead as a result.

[@damiandudley1144]

Ah, I thought it sounded super interesting. I had heard about the banana wars, but never knew many details about when and what stimulated them. So basically, that spoiler in the back of my mind convinced this video would be a good watch. Isn't it sad that we don't try to diversify our food supply more? You'd think that our global influence as a world superpower would give us access to more than just the cavendish and a few others. Also, isn't it alarming that a fungus or disease could wipe out a entire food source that a huge industry is built on?

[@deanpd3402]

@@artlovervictoria oh no it's a karma llama.

[@teatonaz]

damian dudley < - - you think that's scary,... wait till the same happens to our wheat and potatoe crops grown in THIS country. Scientists have been warning about it for a long time now. Will/would be devastating.

[@dariusmolark6820]

'when bananas rule' - amazon prime. 53 min.

[@ahope4u2]

You have probably taught me more about a variety of topics then all of my teachers combined......thanks....

[@jenniferpeters3702]

How can you not like this episode?? Another wonderful story!

[@jeffdunn890]

Completely and utterly fascinating! I spent quite a bit of time in the Caribbean and Central America in my youth and this connects a lot of dots with the historical and political aspects of these countries.

[@The-KP]

What a great channel. Thanks for keeping it going, History Guy.

During the Montreal Olympics of 1976, the athletes all shared a common eating hall in the Athlete's Village. There was a vast table of fresh fruit and athletes were allowed to eat what ever they liked. Athletes from teh USSR dove into the bananas because there were so few available in communist USSR. They couldn’t believe they could eat all the bananas they wanted. Athletes from other countries thought it was funny to see the Soviet athlete’s horde bananas in their rooms. They asked how it was possible to have so many bananas, something impossible back home. Soviet Olympic authorities told the athlete’s the bananas had to be shipped in from across Canada and there were banana shortages in other parts of the country. The athletes didn't believe it because they had tasted the truth behind the Communist lie. The Soviet athletes were then moved into segregated quarters in the Athlete’s Village, with separate food services and no contact with other athletes. They were flown directly out of Montréal as soon as they had completed their sport, denied a chance to explore Montreal or participate in the closing ceremonies. It was an international diplomatic incident over bananas.

[@amogusenjoyer]

Robert Manders as someone from Montreal, thank you for the trivia. The Montreal olympics are somewhat of a forgotten history here, especially for the younger generations. Also, didn’t the USSR have friendly central american countries at the time?

[@badlaamaurukehu]

You mean Cuba couldn't supply demand? Go figure...

[@amogusenjoyer]

Badlaama Urukehu cuba doesn’t export bananas. Their production barely covers domestic consumption afaik!

[@Lockbar]

Damn commies!

Good food was not a priority to the Kremlin. The Communist leaders may have had bananas but the people certanly did not A banana would be black and rotten by the time it reached a store because it was simply of no importance to the leaders. Same for tomatoes, and most fresh fruits and veggies. Even during teh Depression, Canadians ate better than Russians did at the best of times.

[@alanrogers7090]

Back about a hundred years ago, my grandmother's older brother, Maurice, had a grocery store that, of course, sold bananas. My grandmother said they were the best bananas she had ever tasted. When the "problem" happened, and bananas went away for a while, everyone was very disappointed. Later, when the Cavendish type became available, she thought that her own taste buds had changed, as the bananas didn't taste as sweet as they had previously. She is now long gone, she passed in 1980, but I could have told her that it wasn't her taste buds, but the "new" bananas which were not as sweet as the "Big Mike's" of her youth. Being born, myself, in 1950, I've only known the Cavendish type. Thank you again for an informative episode. PS, being retired, I'm afraid that I can't financially help any of the KZbin channels I enjoy. As a matter of fact, I don't even own a television, as I abhor commercials. At least on KZbin, you can usually turn them off after a few seconds, although, lately, I am seeing more and more. PPS, I can learn more from you in a few minutes, then I ever could in my history classes of fifty years ago.

[@feellucky271]

We still got the Big Mikes until the late '70s here in the US.

[@trentallman984]

You benefit the channels by just watching.

[@michietn5391]

Five more stars, Guy. Your narrative style is a fine example of charisma. I have a fetish for island stories, and it would be wonderful to find some histories involving them. For example, James Cook's demise in Hawai'i, the Indian involvement in Fiji, the Maori in Aotearoa, is Australia an island?, the Philippines, the Sandwiches, Maldives, Andamans, Hebrides, Ageans, etc, etc, ...

[@SuperHigear]

Back in the 1970s & 80s I occasionally picked up loads of bananas from the banana pier in China Town on the south end of Manhattan. They came in off of the ships in 80-100 pound boxes and are a green color. They're transported in climate controlled trucks or trailers to protect them from freezing and/or over heating and are then delivered to grocery chain store warehouses. Before being sent out to the individual stores the pallets of boxes are pushed into sealed off rooms where they were bathed in a nitrogen gas to help ripen them and change the color of the skins from green to the yellow that you see in grocery stores. One driver at the company I drove for had the refrigeration unit on his trailer quit working one winter night. The skins on the bannanas turned brown, so they sold the whole load to an Amish group at a huge discount and they used the fruit to make bannana breads, puddings, cakes and doughnuts

[@capitalisa]

What an incredible wealth of information on your channel. Important, interesting and entertaining. Love you!

[@g550ted5]

Once again, you emerge as a "Top Banana" of KZbin channels. Thanks once more for your efforts in educating us in the wonderful realm of world history.

[@ghrey8282]

Excellent! When it comes to quick guides to history, often a slippery subject, you are the top banana. In my humble opinion no one has greater appeal. 😁

[@michelejones711]

😅

[@itsalgud1459]

Only you, History Guy, would do a bit on bananas! And make it interesting! When I was growing up in the 50s and 60s, we had a retired ship’s captain as a family friend, whose name was Captain Grant. He had been the Admiral of the United Fruit fleet having run away from home at 14, going to sea. I still love his many exciting stories of his travels and adventures to virtually every port in the world. He told us tales of rogue waves back when all the “experts” believed them to be myths and dismissed them out of hand. I believed Captain Grant, imagining that after 44 yrs at sea, he knew more it than the “experts”. Time has proven him to be right. He was also the author of several articles about his adventures for Reader’s Digest.

[@herrakaarme]

He didn't know more, he just knew different things due to his profession. That's not the same as knowing more. His job would have been to get the ships and cargo in time, safely, and within budget to the destination, not to study the oceans. The experts, however, would spend their whole careers to only study the oceans. Of course they would end up knowing more about oceans, though only a fraction of the amount a captain would know about ships, merchant fleets, and shipping. Would the experts always be correct? No, obviously not. No scientist would claim to know everything and always be correct. That's not how science works and thus anyone claiming such isn't a scientist by definition. At the end of the day scientists and all other experts, engineers and captains alike, are only humans.

[@yellowblanka6058]

@@herrakaarme Thank you - anti-science attitudes are depressing.

[@RandyP9890]

I’ve spent a good amount of the day binge watching your videos. Great content, very informative, and well delivered. Keep up the awesome work! I feel like I’m a pretty decent history buff, and I am amazed at the things, big and small, that I didn’t know before today.

[@GrangerGangster]

I don’t know how anyone can not like this episode, nor any of your other episodes on fruit. I think this is one of my favorites you’ve done!

[@alfredabbey6162]

I love your videos, I hated history as a kid but now realize I actually do love it. If my history teachers had been like you I know that would have been so awesome.

[@wrightflyer7855]

@The History Guy, You have the rare ability to make any subject interesting. Almost every Day-O.

[@glennso47]

Wright Flyer Maybe he can do a video on paint drying. Or unloading a grocery truck.

[@ThatBobGuy850]

Ouch!

[@wrightflyer7855]

@@glennso47 No doubt he could.

[@nkelly.9]

I like your stuff. I learn something every time I see your pieces and you connect many historical dots for me. Informed, enthusiastic and engaged. Interested people are interesting. Kudos Sir!

[@z06doc86]

Never realized the history of bananas was so complicated and blood stained.

[@allanrichardson1468]

Any product that earns a profit in the marketplace can lead to armed conflict, either by nation states or by private mercenary armies. Bananas, diamonds, even Bibles and rosaries.

[@MA_KA_PA_TIE]

Anything worth money is blood stained.

[@Dustpuma1]

@@terracotta6294 you're an idiot

[@nicocba2007]

That brings us the story of one of the first (of many) coup d'état provoked by a US goverment. In 1935 Smedley Butler wrote: "I have served for 30 years and four months in the most combative units of the US Armed Forces: in the Marines. I have the feeling of having acted during all that time as a highly qualified bandit at the service of the big Wall Street companies and their bankers. In other words, I have been a gangster in the service of capitalism. In 1923 I "straightened" the issues in Honduras in the interest of the US fruit companies." William Sydney Porter aka O. Henry coined the term "Banana Republic" to describe situation caused by the US intervention in Honduras and Guatemala as of beginning of XX Century... because of the bananas and the amercian bananas companies.

[@MisterSiza78]

Smedley Butler, now that's a great man worth remembering.

[@GeorgeSemel]

@@MisterSiza78 He became a first-class Nut job after retirement too. He claimed once that bankers wanted him to establish a Fascist Government in the US, but when asked by Congress about it he could not tell them anything because he made it up. Legendary Marine never the less. A lot of the Marines that fought in the Banana Wars would be in the leadership for both the First and Second World Wars. I have no problem with what was done, the Idea that you can go risk your money and build something then have other just walk in and say well it's not yours anymore is what I consider justification to do what is necessary. In the modern day all you have to do is to look at Venezuela the Government started stealing private property for years. And they are doing the Same in South Africa, a country that was a first world Nation is now a third world shit hole.

[@2.7petabytes]

Yes! Hence, as you say, Banana Republic

[@sorellman]

Just one little detail that needs to be addressed: there is absolutely no actual proof humans have "domesticated" bananas or anything else for that matter. They tell you that in science class and on science oriented TV shows but in reality this is an assumption with no connection to reality. And, no, the god with supernatural powers worshiped in church did not do it either.

[@danconrad920]

@@2.7petabytes ....that would be "mining rights" and good luck with that. BTW, that does happen

[@andyrichardsvideovlogs8835]

It would have been interesting to have had a segment on the derivation of the expression "Banana Republic" as it relates to the history of banana exploitation of the developing economies.

[@bluesteel8376]

He did cover that near the end.

[@jamesbarca7229]

I recently learned that a banana is easier to peel from the top, opposite the stem. You simply pinch the very end and it comes right open, rather than tugging on the stem which often ends up smashing the end of the banana. Plus, you don't get all of the "strings" hanging from the banana, they stay with the peel.

[@terryboyer1342]

My sister adopted a girl from Russia. That's how they peel them there. She uses the stem as a holder.

[@dusseau13]

Philippine style.

[@justinpipes85]

Technically you mean "it's easier to peel from the bottom." The top would be the stem. Side note: I also just discovered this way to peel a banana. It works so much better.

[@homertalk]

This is how the Monkey eats it also.

[@jamesbarca7229]

@@justinpipes85 I always considered the stem to be the top, but as the videos I watched pointed out, bananas grow upwards from the stem making the stem technically the bottom. I suppose it's all just semantics, though.

[@tampere29]

Thank you for this video!!! I was raised by parents who talked about American intervention in Latin America and was aware of the term Banana Republic from an early age, I'm 73yo. I am constantly amazed at the number of people that aren't familiar with that part of our history and firmly believe that America has stayed out of foreign countries!!! I have never bought anything at the chain Banana Republic because of the name.

[@DrBill-zv5dx]

Just when I thought I knew it all, the History guy comes along and straightens me out. His videos have been approved by millions of people starving for knowledge, and thirsting for the truth . My mind is almost full. I respect your wisdom . Thank you .

[@David-in3sd]

I wish I had a History teacher with your charisma when I was in Elementary and High School... then I might have passed History!

[@louisedwards4023]

Me too !thanks David !

[@SarahDigsHockey]

I would have failed if he was my history teacher. I would have been so engulfed in the stories that I would have forgotten to take notes.

[@Shingleicious]

Good topic as always

[@niranthbanks3595]

The taste of artificially flavored banana candy tastes very much like the “Big Mike.” That is why banana candy doesn’t taste quite like bananas.

[@mikeyoung9810]

Interesting. Thanks.

[@bradbutcher3984]

I hate bananas but love candies that are banana flavored. Cool

[@treborironwolfe]

@@bradbutcher3984 I think Niranth was trying to say that "banana" candy tasted more like "Big Mike" candy ;>

[@treborironwolfe]

@eddie Dickens Yes, you are probably right. And the fact that they used *actual* bananas to flavor the banana candies back then probably made a huge difference compared to the artificial flavorings in today's candy.

[@glennso47]

Niranth Banks Does it taste like chicken?😋

[@JR_AP]

I really enjoyed this video! Since I read Gabriel Garcia Marquez "Hundred years of solitude" twenty years ago I felt intrigued by the topic of how bananas (and other foods) have shaped the lives of so many people and countries and global trade, the sole magnitude is astonishing. Would love to see you make longer, more in deep videos about certain topics like this one! BTW, you're making great content! Greetings from Spain!

[@Mtlmshr]

Well, once again I’ve learned something new from your channel. Thank you for constantly educating me on a vast collection of different topics. Well done!

[@jdh91741]

1970-71 Indochina. 11th Armored Cavalry 3rd Squadron, I Troop, 2nd Squad, Track #24 was at one time my mailing address and home for ten months as lead scout tank commander. Standing on top of the gun shields mounted on the turret, with our machetes we were able to reach wild banana stalks cutting them from the plant. We hung the banana stalks on the back of our tank turret and enjoyed the bananas for many days supplementing "C" Rations. We cooked our "C"'s with rolled up strands of C-4 plastic explosives which burned at the end furiously making an ideal cooking flame also causing the C-4 to become highly unstable resulting in the occasional explosion not to mention toxic fumes.

[@ralphcraig5816]

MACV guy, 3 tours, I boiled water for noodles in my helmet with C-4. Would freak out the FNGs...

[@bharn253]

Happy Veterans Day James

[@PhilipLeitch]

The current Banana is a natural oddity, it has not been bred so that it doesn't have seeds. It has three pairs of chromosomes which is one more set then humans or any other fertile organism. This accounts for the very large size of bananas compared to other berries other herbs and wild bananas that do have seeds. This the seeds are incapable of being fertilized and therefore never become seeds. The banana flower is quite often used in Asian salads especially in Thailand.

[@warrenokuma7264]

@@tomvincenthermoso7077 , yup and stir fry as well.

[@Kyle-sg4rm]

So called "edible bananas" (seedless), did not necessarily take thousands of years to develop and can be bred again with some amount of trial and error. It's due to a combination of two things: Parthenocarpy - which means that the plant will produce fruit without needing to be pollinated. Along with male/female sterility, which is a natural mutation, which can occur when two different wild species are crossed. Or a wild (diploid chromosome) species is crossed with a "cultivated edible banana" (which are usually triploids, but also tetraploids etc). You may also get results from crossing different variations of a species, or already hybridised wild bananas with each other, or either of those with a "cultivated edible banana". There is some connection between parthenocarpy and sterility, but the two genetic events operate independently and can range in effect. Eg: "Namwa" banana - an edible type from Thailand which is triploid, generally has no seeds, but can sometimes develop a few seeds if pollinated by wild bananas... So "Namwa" is not completely female sterile. It could even have viable pollen, meaning that it would not be completely male sterile either. Even the cavendish, can develop seeds, but only very, very rarely and probably when pollinated by a wild banana such as Musa acuminata. This was done fairly recently in an attempt to revitalise the genetics...but sadly, they used an "embryo rescue" tissue-culture technique (micro-propagation) to get it to grow.....tissue-culture leads to somaclonal variation (unnatural in-vitro mutations), possible contamination during tissue-culture from other genetic material (making it a GMO) and unstable genetics in general. And that's before considering the effects of synthetic hormones etc, etc, etc, which may be used in the process... I suspect that many of the diseases effecting cultivated edible bananas, have arisen from tissue-culture - which is now very common in the industry and even for some home gardeners. NOTE: It's worth growing your own, as bananas (and other fruit & vege etc) have been/are being genetically engineered for such things as "edible vaccines" and pharmaceutical crops in general (eg: Hepatitis B vaccine, human blood albumin, contraception, sterilisation). Some of these have already contaminated (cross-pollinated) other crops that were intended for consumption, during field trials - who knows how far they've spread... Besides modification of soil bacteria and other organisms by transgenic plants - it has been known for a long time that GE plants can and do cross-pollinate other crops near and far and do set viable seeds, which have been found growing all over the place. This was known before these crops ever left the lab. They also already knew that terminator seed mods don't work as claimed and that they may have other effects, such as spreading sterility over several generations to other plants (and maybe other organisms who eat them?) It's not just fertile seeded plants that are being replaced, but also other plants such as "cultivated edible bananas", which are less fertile and are clonaly propagated. Plants are being/have been distributed by private labs/corporate labs/university labs and no one is really keeping track. It's deliberate. For example, GE papaya plants were handed out for free to local farmers in Thailand. All life is being replaced by biotech creations............ So, although it's less common these days, conventional breeding is still very important and always should be. And everyday gardeners can play a part in it - as they have for millennia! Nature has been/is being hijacked by "the system"......It's up to everyday people to defend it, while there is still time. There are many edible diploid bananas that develop a few seeds, but are edible for the most part. Many landrace varieties may have occurred without any (or much) human intervention at all. From what i've read - it seems that around 3 out of 1000 bananas grown from seeds of a particular cross, could be parthenocarpic and sterile enough to be considered a new variety of "edible banana". It would depend on many factors. Bananas are complicated!

[@ThePhantomSafetyPin]

Strawberries are very similar. They have eight sets of chromosomes, which accounts for their larger size compared to wild, wildtype strawberries. Plants in general have much larger numbers of chromosomes than animals do, which makes them a lot more versatile and a lot easier to crossbreed. They're also less likely to be damaged by genetic manipulation of the chromosomes. Some animals also have trisomy or even tetrasomy (three/four chromosome pairs). Fish and some amphibians are tetraploid. The Platypus has 10 (!) sets of sex chromosomes.

[@RalphReagan]

Once I was in Thailand and I saw an elephant grazing and it found some bananas it ate two bunches in mere seconds squealing like a hamster.

[@rudolfpeterudo3100]

They would also eat the plant that grew the stalk of bananas. As seen each year in the Surin (Chang) Elephant fair.

[@RalphReagan]

@@rudolfpeterudo3100 it was just so happy munching away

[@junglelifelurefishingadven8918]

@Mr T gorillas in the wild actually prefer to eat the heart of the banana plant and discard the fruit.

[@dthomaswilliamson33]

@@junglelifelurefishingadven8918 isn't that what was said or are you or I not seeing straight? Read better friend

[@junglelifelurefishingadven8918]

@@dthomaswilliamson33 yes that is what i read mate. I wasn't arguing with Mr T just stating that gorillas in the wild prefer the plant and not the fruit/berry.

[@iatsechannel5255]

One of the best! Much more information than other YT sites. Great Job.

[@michaelpeart3202]

Once again sir your brief concise rendering of the facts are in my opinion without peer and continue to educate and entertain me. The history of the history guy deserves to be told and remembered

[@rudolfpeterudo3100]

Another good one. By the way have you ever tried the banana species that comes from Borneo.The actual fruit is something like 1 meter or approx 1 yard long. Brought some in Bintulu Sarawak/Sabah forget which is which Borneo,

[@JudithSanchez-ht6jn]

Thanks for the lesson. I am from Puerto Rico 🇵🇷 and when I was living there bananas was liked apples here. Now I live in New Jersey I ask myself how come we in PR saw the banana as nothing when had been the cause of wars and murder and civil war in Colombia 🇨🇴 when congressman Jorge eliezer Gaitan candidate for the presidency of Colombia 🇨🇴 was asesínate and he was a critic of USA 🇺🇸 intervention and causing a civil war who cost more than 300,thousands people flee the country plus thousands more woman children 👶 poor and rich. How President Truman can sleep when he knows what was happening. That was in 1948.

[@johndilday1846]

I loved this episode. Bananas are my favorite fruit, and I would be very sad if a blight took them away. I hope that science can triumph once again.

[@racebiketuner]

You can support farmers who are working hard to keep this problem in check by only buying certified organic bananas.

[@Vercingetorix.Rising]

This was a great little tidbit of history. Love your channel my friend. Keep up the good work.

[@ES-wb2do]

I am a fan of history, and a fan of a good story, especially when told by a good teller of stories. I do enjoy you're channel. And the bow tie is just the bee's knees. Thanks

[@jamesmcgrath1952]

That's why I love this channel. I always thought the banana I had as a child were not the same as today (yes I'm an old fart).

[@therenumerator9198]

Lot of us out here, 11/29/1949

[@Ice_Karma]

Indeed, in the 1950s "Panama disease", a species of _Fusarium_ fungus, pretty much wiped the "Gros Michel" variety out, since, as the History Guy mentions, all bananas are grown from clones and are thus genetically identical, and it was replaced with "Cavendish"-group varieties, also a clone... which itself might be wiped out in the next 20 years by a new strain of Panama disease. I believe another commenter has mentioned that the artificial banana flavour may have been based on the flavour of the "Gros Michel", and thus in part why it doesn't taste much like the bananas we know today.

[@zakariadavis973]

Yep. Lots.lol

[@Seventeen_Syllables]

I read somewhere that the reason banana-flavoring doesn't taste like bananas is because the artificial flavoring was based on the gros michel, and it had a richer flavor than the cavendish. But I'm no banana-scientist, that could be one of those Internet things that these upstart whippersnappers with their piercings and e-cigs are always coming up with.

[@monkiram]

Wow, I'd love to try the Gros Michel bananas, banana-flavoured foods taste better than bananas imo lol

[@mybackhurts7020]

I’ve always wanted to try the Big mick

[@mattpeacock5208]

That's what she said!

[@taragwendolyn]

The extinction of the Gros Michel is also why artificial banana flavour candy doesn't taste like bananas - it does, just not Cavendish. ;) (also, the S is silent in the French... it's pronounced like "grow")

[@TheHistoryGuyChannel]

Tara FitzGerald the Gros Michel is not extinct. But yes, artificial banana flavor was based ok the Big Mike.

[@taragwendolyn]

@@TheHistoryGuyChannel Thank you. :) I did notice that in the video, but I had been misinformed. Keep up the great videos! I always look forward to them :)

[@jdwyer4851]

You can still buy clones on Amazon. They come in a long triangular cardboard tube. The plants are just about 3"-4" tall and will run you about $30. Thanks to Jeff Bezos, I now have a small clump of Gros Michel in my backyard.

[@patrickbaillargeon8051]

Tout à fait! I guess Americans would say "toot hay fay"...

[@JarthenGreenmeadow]

The "hay" is not very pronounced. To me it sounds like toot ah fay

[@davidswalec3598]

I know a lot about bananas and most of this was review for me. What is amazing is all this information in one place and so through was the research which took me years to learn. Kudos!

[@juanvaldo666]

I really like to watch this channel. It improves my English listening while I am learning history.

[@jervisneita1736]

I love this episode even more because my country Jamaica played a major role in the modern banana. Hehe

[@LividImp]

FYI: You don't pronounce the "S" in Gros Michel. It's just 'grow mee-shell'. It's a French thing.

[@Rhaspun]

It just gives the French a reason to raise their noses and complain.

[@LividImp]

@@Rhaspun Or, ya' know, it's how they speak their language. It's not like English has any room to complain about wonky language rules and exceptions.

[@Chris_at_Home]

I had some local bananas in Irian Jaya in the mid 90s when I was working there. I remember they were small but very good. A whole bundle was about 25 cents from some guy walking along the road.

[@aprilrichards762]

I live near Latrobe and during the summer there is a Banana split weekend and where the pharmacy once stood there is a huge statue of a Banana split! :-)

[@jaimejaimeChannel]

Fabulous. Please match volume levels more carefully - for all the incredible work that goes into these videos.

[@CallieMasters5000]

Bananas have some terrible history, but they are an amazing product. Virtually everybody likes the taste of them, regardless of the culture. The Wal-Mart CEO was quoted saying it was their #1 selling item. I'm always amazed that the price stays steady: year-round, year after year, it's always 49 cents a pound. For a world commodity, it stays a much steadier price than oil!

[@rantalbott6963]

Interesting: at the Wal-Mart in the small town near where I live, the price has been stable at *56* cents for years. The price doesn't fluctuate like oil because it'd be hard to put together an oligopoly: it takes a million years to create a new member of OPEC, but only one for OBEC. ;-)

[@JarthenGreenmeadow]

Constant supply and constant demand = stability

[@donaldbotsai5799]

$1.19 per pound in Honolulu(Dole or Chiquita), $1.29 for locally grown bananas

[@ThePhantomSafetyPin]

We just need to use bananas for world peace now instead. Like. ISIS invading a country? Bananas. Horrible dictator not letting food supplies in? Bananas. Nobody's enemies anymore when they're eating a banana split.

[@timmytwodogs]

Isoamyl acetate is derived from the banana plant and was used extensively to condition the fabric surfaces of early aircraft. The substance can also be synthesized .

[@david203]

And it is the primary ingredient in artificial banana flavor, synthesized and cheap as is vanillin (4-Hydroxy-3-methoxybenzaldehyde), the primary ingredient of vanilla extract.

[@brianpendergast2894]

Banana Oil. We use it for Respirator Fit Tests!!

[@csours]

@History Guy - No mention of the Banana Equivalent Dose? The banana is a unit of radiation exposure as well.

[@jeffwalters8552]

Did not know that!

[@TheHistoryGuyChannel]

Cameron Sours LOL I had a paragraph written, but it just didn’t fit into the history. Yes, bananas are radioactive!

[@billsugden3734]

Yes bananas accumulate radioactive isotopes of phosphorus and potassium selectively. Whne I worked at a port the nuclear detection equipment (designed to track illegal trafic in nuclear material) would spot a truckload and "go bananas ".

[@jeffwalters8552]

@@billsugden3734 Thats "bananas"! I'll show myself out.

[@picitnew]

*Cameron Sours* *_"The banana is a unit of radiation exposure as well "_* It's actually not the correct unit, since sievert is the correct one. The banana is just used so normal people can get a better understanding of radiation levels. 1 sievert corresponds to approximately 10 million bananas.

[@emmettg7490]

Wow. What a great channel. I feel lucky to have come across this.

[@americanpatriot2422]

Outstanding video and presentation

[@Terragea]

As somebody living in a "banana republic" I don't care much for Cavendish bananas; but fried, flat, salted, green plantains, known as "patacones", are absolutely delicious 😋. Little, thumb sized bananas known as "guineos" are also much sweeter and better tasting than Cavendish bananas.

[@katiekane5247]

I buy the little ones when available in Georgia USA

[@JudithSanchez-ht6jn]

Rolando Alvarado de acuerdo ☝️ correct

[@JudithSanchez-ht6jn]

Katie Kane enjoy I like them but unfortunately I am pre-diabetes and not good for me. Sad the real banana was adulterer and made hybrid without seeds the original had had seeds. We going bananas 🍌 😰

[@Terragea]

@Ru22eLL Costa Rica 🇨🇷. Historically a banana republic, but we no longer depend on bananas as we once did, as a country.

[@dainiu]

Got this in my recommendation as I was eating a banana. Damn you KZbin

[@carboy101]

Google knows everything.

[@jsand8301]

Do you have a Google Alexa device? You say: I would like a banana!

[@kam70111]

Careful, Google is keeping an eye on your banana.

[@TheWebstaff]

This story is just bananas..

[@frankstein7631]

The lack of humour of some people is just bananas. The probably spell humour as humor(less).

[@jam9297]

@Phil Weatherley Oh lay an egg

[@ThePhantomSafetyPin]

B-A-N-A-N-A-S!

[@glennso47]

Dave Webster Loving You Has Made Me Bananas. A novelty song in the 1960s

[@stevenmetzger3385]

Thanks again! Always great history videos!

[@bvons75]

@ 6:22 you missed the opportunity to clarify that sailors on those Banana Boats slept in Banana Hammocks.

[@MrDDiRusso]

Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana. -Groucho Marx

[@garychynne1377]

i've eaten one a day for 50 years and i'm still here.

[@badlaamaurukehu]

Lo there Gare!

[@CurCam713]

It is the first thing I eat when I wake up. It helps a lot. Potassium for the brain.

[@gordybishop2375]

History of out food is so important,,,,no matter our government,,,dictators,,,religion,,,,we all need to eat,

[@PeterLaFrance]

outstanding work, loved it.

[@PseudoAccurate]

Fantastic topic. I had already subscribed to you but this has been a long interest of mine.

[@ilotitto]

In Venezuela it is called "cambur" and it's the only country in Latin America that calls it like that.

[@dleland71]

The picture shown at 0:58 is of Butternut Squash, not a bottle or Birdhouse Gourd.

[@PrezVeto]

And the former most certainly _is_ a food.

[@barrywilliams7253]

Dear Sir ,I would like to shake your hand, most interesting

[@ajstephen3977]

I truly enjoyed this video. absolutely fantastic

[@bharn253]

Excellent Knowledge!

[@theallseeingmaster]

Now I know why my parents never ate bananas, they would say that they 'just didn't taste right, anymore.'

[@deezynar]

Yes, bananas today taste odd. They have a weird after taste.

[@gastonbell108]

@@arthas640 You think our easy-ship bananas are bad, you should try our tomatoes. Good Christ I've never eaten such terrible things.

[@lordgarion514]

@@arthas640 Just an FYI, tomatoes that turn all red when ripe lack the flavor of tomatoes that keep some green on them when ripe.

[@rogerholloway8498]

Very a-peeling topic, interesting too!

[@arthurc1971]

I saw Chesty Puller in one of the pictures you showed. Semper Fi

[@dbeaus]

Pullers son was, of course a Marine in Vietnam, who lost both of his legs. He is an articulate, intelligent, fair man who ran for congress and lost. His writings on the VN war and it's effects of the returning troops and the culture as a whole are amongst the finest I have ever read. I hope he reappears on the political seen, but the fact that he is articulate, fair, informed, and pretty devoid of special interest groups, means he is dead on arrival in the present state of politics. I am a VN vet, 69, and would vote for him in a second. Not because he is a VN vet, because of the other listed attributes. His country needs him and more like him. The old man would have been proud.

[@kirkjones9639]

Good nite Chesty, wherever you are.

[@acernoks]

9:55 Tall man, no hat., unmistakable mug. Good night, Chesty!

[@kirkjones9639]

@@acernoks I was inspected by Chesty way back when (I'm old) and I was only 6'1", he was much shorter than me. Age and 4 back surgeries, 1 neck surgery have taken nearly an in. off that height. All the guys in the pic were natives, not a one of them was probably over 5'4". I think he retired 2 or 3 years after I saw him, he was a Brig. Gen when I saw him.

[@acernoks]

@@kirkjones9639 Thanks for sharing your memory, and for your service.

[@keithgiles8779]

This was excellent, thank you!

[@ganormand]

This subject had a lot of appeal to me...as my father played music on the United Fruit Company (he called them banana boats) in the 1930's. He went to Central and South America as well as New York. He was based in New Orleans, which, for a time was considered to be the largest banana shipping port in the world.