Watch: What the banana (which has aided two coups) you'll eat in the future will be like
Everyone's favourite fruit has come a long way – and is going farther.
It's loved by minions and athletes everywhere. And when it's not saving lazy people from starvation or being used to further an argument about creationism, the banana – valued at £26 billion and a crucial part of the diet of 400 million – is a pretty fascinating thing. Albeit a little difficult to spell.
A new video tells the "surprising history of the banana in two minutes". It's all here, from being cultivated for the first time in Papua New Guinea in 5,000 BC to helping a company take over government functions in Guatemala (hence, banana republic).
But the story of this fruit is not yet over. To meet increasing global demand, researchers are looking to create that perfect fruit, which will be resistant to all kinds of disease, even as a deadly new disease threatens to wipe out global banana population in five years. That might sound like the plot of a science fiction movie, but it isn't.
Here's SciShow revealing the terrifying truth about the bananas that we all eat.
Scary as they might be, the banana is not just a beloved food item. The shape and curvature of the fruit – which is botanically a herb – has proved inspirational to a former World No. 1 tennis player and one of the world's greatest fast bowlers.