Imma Perfetto
Cosmos science journalist
Bananas are a beloved by a bunch of us the world over, in fact, about 100 megatonnes are produced globally each year.
But will they go extinct on us? Will eating too many kill you? And are the peels really that slippery?
Read more: Peeling back the skin on the science behind bananas
On this episode of Huh? Science Explained, Imma Perfetto talks all things bananas. From the fact that they’re actually berries and that farmers need to clone them to make more plants, to the deadly fungal disease that almost caused the extinction of one variety – the Gros Michel – and still might cause the extinction of our favourite Cavendish one day.
These wonky yellow fruit also contain a whole lot of potassium, a fraction of which is a radioactive isotope, so could eating too many result in a fatal overdose?
And how slippery are banana peels according to physics?
Huh? Science Explained is a LiSTNR production.