Bananas Are Losing the War on Fungus

The Gros Michel banana lost the battle with fungus in the 1950s, but was replaced by the Cavendish. This time we might not have a new banana to come to the rescue. Could this be the end of bananas?

Hosted by: Hank Green

Thank you Craig Benzine and The Good Stuff for the awesome Bluth's Bananas pic!
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[Lightning]

Is it weird that I can remember that exact episode back in 2013, but can't remember what I had for breakfast yesterday morning?

[ELYESSS]

1-buy an island in the middle of nowhere
2-Make a secret isolated banana farm
3-wait for bananas to go extinct
4-profit

[claeshenriksson]

Now I'm dying to know what a Gros Michel banana tastes like

[j.garcia]

Rip Bananas. I am eating one as we speak.

[gokuify]

What am I supposed to eat after my workout now :/

[a.chapel]

Thanks for making an update on this! I remember your episode and also reading several articles about the fungal issue written in like... 2005 saying we'd run out of bananas in 10 years. So far, we hadn't and every time I've tried to look for more information about bananas I'd just find those same 10 year old articles again.

[Shangori]

Perfect opportunity for genetic modification to do it's thing... If only people weren't so irrationally scared of it

Then I remember we're talking about humans, so...

[IceMetalPunk]

In a history class in 2072, a teacher grows nostalgic while his students stare quizzically, puzzled over the concept of these so-called "banana fruits".

[zonyae]

Noooo! NOT MY DELICIOUS PHALLIC OBJECTS!!!

[Luchoedge]

Can't we develop sexual bananas?

Ugh, that came out wrong...

[kurtilein]

Here in Germany, in the supermarkets we have mostly Cavendish, but we also have 2 other kinds of bananas appearing in the markets more and more often.

[GustavoValdiviesso]

That is awesome, but also very sad. Here in Brazil we don't have only the Cavendish-like (here called Nanica) but actually at least three other types that are not so famous. So, while the best banana may go away soon, we will still have some bananas, for a while.

[MrDrProfPatrick]

1:16 That's not true,
Gros Michel didn't extinct, it just commercially extinct.
You can still find it in some places.

[SockTaters]

Why do you have a banana tank? Wait, why don't I have a banana tank?

[Kibaoftheleaves]

I really hope we can bring back the Gros Michel. They sound super tasty. They still grow in South America I think.

[reececrump]

how nostalgic to hear you all prattling on about bananas again... the 2013 banana video was probably the first sci show vid I ever watched...i liked it so much i subscribed and then tried to write a whole paper about it for school... AND NOW ITS THE END OF BANNA TIMES! CURSES! WE WERE WARNED! WHY DIDNT WE LISTEN!?

[TylerRuan]

I'm watching this three years later and I feel like I need an update on this cuz I still see bananas around

[devins]

All we need is a GM Banana resistant to the fungi, then we can keep our yellow friends :)

[pokeholy]

Good thing I am all prepared for the bananapocalypse. I have a vault with thousands of bananas kept deep underground in China. You could search for decades and not find it. I built it several years ago and am ready to go there whenever the bananapocalypse occurs

[SirHenryMaximo]

Chom choms are losing the war on fungus?