Bananas

I forgot to buy bananas last night when I did my grocery shopping for the week. I usually have a banana every morning with breakfast. It's part of my get up and go. This put my mind on the word banana. I've always loved the word because it's a somewhat exotic yet corny word. You usually don't see exotic and corny in the same sentence but for the word banana I believe exotic and corny are fitting.

Bananas come in a variety of sizes and color when they are ripe, including yellow, purple and red. The banana plant is often mistaken for a tree. Their main or upright trunk is actually a false trunk (or stem) made of the rolled bases of leaves.

Southeast Asian farmers were the first to cultivate bananas. Southeast Asia (Indochina) has more genus's of the banana plant than any other part of the world, suggesting a long history of banana cultivation in the area. Africa has the second largest variety of genus's.

Nowadays the banana is used in a variety of ways. It's a flavor of ice cream and frozen yogurt. Bananas are used in deserts and cakes. But it is still first and foremost a breakfast favorite. Bananas have many health benefits. They help to reduce depression and anemia. They protect our eyes and help us to develop healthy bones. Because they are high in potassium they help to lower blood pressure and relieve stress. I'll have to remember that next time I'm all stressed.

A secondary term for the word bananas is crazy or deranged. I often feel as if I am bananas - as a matter of fact it's a term I hear used in reference to me on a regular basis. I guess I must really be bananas after all.

A third term finds the word bananas being used to describe response such as enthusiasm or excitement. The kind of excitement that happens when a great band walks out on stage to begin their concert - the audience goes bananas.

Yes, We Have No Bananas first became popular in 1923

Slipping on a banana peel has become a staple in comedy since 1910

BANANAS!