You might think that slipping on a banana peel is a just useful trope for slapstick humor in old movies or cartoons. It is quite useful for that, but the act is based on a real world problem. In the 19th century, cities and towns grew exponentially and no one cared about trash in the streets. We also started to get regular supplies of bananas from Latin America. The discarded peels are particularly slippery compared to other food wrappers, and yes, people slipped a lot.
Jon Bois of Secret Base reveals what a problem this became, and relates some of the more horrific, and the more amusing, examples. It's a 33-minute documentary, but worth the time. The real history part begins at 3:30. (via Metafilter)
On a personal note, I couldn't help but think of my 2009 house project, when the only way to get upstairs was by temporary steps on the roof.
2 comments:
Wow, that was a hell of house remodel.
xoxoxoBruce
I don't know if the documentary mentions it, but bananas used to be more slippery and more flavorful than they are today. Today's bananas are a different breed, and not as much of an obvious hazard.
Banana husbandry is weird. I'll stick with a human wife.
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