Bananas are America's #1 fruit -

• Bananas are good for you


• 3 medium size bananas weigh approximately 1 pound.


• A cluster of bananas is called a hand and consists of 10 to 20 bananas, which are known as fingers.


• As bananas ripen, the starch in the fruit turns to sugar. Therefore, the riper the banana the sweeter it will taste.


• Bananas are a good source of vitamin C, potassium and dietary fiber.


• Bananas are available all year-round. They are harvested every day of the year.


• Bananas are great for athletic and fitness activity because they replenish necessary carbohydrates, glycogen and body fluids burned during exercise.


• Bananas have no fat, cholesterol or sodium.


• Bananas were officially introduced to the American public at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition. Each banana was wrapped in foil and sold for 10 cents. Before that time, bananas came to America on the decks of sailing ships as sailors took a few stems home after traveling in the Caribbean.


• In 2001, there were more than 300 banana-related accidents in Britain, most involving people slipping on skins.


• In Eastern Africa you can buy banana beer. This beer is brewed from bananas.


• Over 96% of American households purchase bananas at least once each month.


• Some horticulturists suspect that the banana was the earth's first fruit. Banana plants have been in cultivation since the time of recorded history. One of the first records of bananas dates back to Alexander the Great's conquest of India where he first discovered bananas in 327 B.C.


• The average American consumes over 28 pounds of bananas each year.