The Bizarre History of Pineapples

In this video, we look at the unexpected history behind the so-called king of the fruits.

Find us here too!
Instagram: @Fire_of_Learning

Music performed by Kevin Macleod Available under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.
Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 in G, Movement I (Allegro), BWV 1049 [orig. by JS Bach]

These songs provided by the YouTube audio library

Spanish Rose
Harpsichord Fugue
Summer Symphony Ball
Island Wave

Sources

[1] Collins JL. 1951. Notes on the origin, history, and genetic nature of the Cayenne Pineapple. Pac Sci 5(1): 3-17.

[2] Morton, J. "Pineapple." In: Fruits of warm climates, 1987. Purdue University. p. 18–28.

[3] "Michele de Cuneo's Letter on the Second Voyage" 28 October, 1495. Cuisine Doc Box.

[4] Chen LY et al. "The Bracteatus Pineapple Genome and Domestication of Clonally Propagated Crops." Nat Genet. 2019 Oct;51(10):1549-1558. doi: 10.1038/s41588-019-0506-8. Epub 2019 Sep 30. PMID: 31570895.

[5] The Week Staff. "How Pineapples Became a Status Symbol." The Week, Jul 22, 2018.

[7] Raga, Suzanne. "The Super Luxe History of Pineapples—And Why They Used to Cost $8000."

[10] MacEwan, Terry. "King Pine, The Pineapple." Historic UK.

Picture Attributions

[thenoobgameplays]

So, if the Spongebob cartoon could be made 200 or 250 years ago, that sponge would be the richest chracter on the show behind King Neptune.

[panqueque]

"Here my king. I brought you this fruit. Every other one I brought rotted but this one is fine I think. Just eat it quickly and don't look at it too closely"

[gregoryoliveira]

A few years ago, I came across a "wild" Pineapple, the Ananá, for the first time. Here in Southern Brazil, we still can find them, specially in the woodlands who mixed Mata Atlântica (Atlantic Rainforest) and the Pampas. This rather small and bitter fruit is kinda tasty tho, and it is amazing to realize how conected the Americas were hundreds of generations before the sixteenth century

[Thebiggestchief]

Yes, finally the quality fruit content we need

[INDIETRONICJUNKIE]

In Venezuela there's a saying that goes: "More annoying than carrying a pineapple under your arm" (In Spanish: "mas fastidioso que una piña debajo del brazo"). I think it originated a long time ago from people carrying a pineapple around in parties and social events.

[maggpiprime]

World: Ananas
England (crosses arms, lifts chin): Pineapple
Brazil (casually inspects fingernails): Abacaxi

[mbgal]

Pineapples are all over the place in Charleston, SC on the historic homes. I never knew all this about them. People said there they were a symbol of hospitality because back in the day if someone was having a party they would put a pineapple out. They never went in to detail about why that was, thank you. Very interesting.

[amberswafford]

I’m going to strut around town pulling a wagon of pineapples so the peasants can bask in my magnificent display of wealth. That’s what I’d tell myself anyway but in actuality I am a peasant myself and if I’m pulling a wagon of pineapples, I’m peddling them for pocket money .

[invisiblejaguar]

This is why I love this channel, nowhere else would you get such a topic. Pineapples are my favorite fruit, even before viewing this, but now I see them in an entirely new light and I'm honored to currently have one placed in my fruit bowl.

[exudeku]

Pineapple is also used as textile and clothing here in the Philippines, a former Spanish Colony, which is famously used in our National Dress for men and women, the Barong Tagalog and Barot' Saya

[crissssseee]

back then: pineapple luxury

today: ewwww I dont like little pineapple slices on my pizza

[MatrixPlays]

Here I am, 3:40am learning about the bizarre history of pineapple…

[lordmartinofleithandcuddy]

That’s nothing! I know a guy who lived inside of a giant one.

[Losttoanyreason]

I accidentally grew a pineapple once. I tossed the top of one into a planter by accident and forgot about it. It rooted and after 2 years I had a pineapple develop. It didn't get as big as the ones in the stores but still was so cool.

[AZOMBIERYO]

"A yo im going all out for this party i even got a pineapple" -18th century nobility

[A-sh]

For months, she had noticed this strange plant growing on the spot where she last saw her daughter. This time, the leaves of the plant fully opened. Inside, she saw this strange yellow fruit




















*that resembled a child’s head with a thousand eyes.*

[alemalvina]

There is an historical account of Portuguese explorers on their discovery of rio de janeiro. They were received friendly by local tribes and among the gift they received some pinneaples."a fruit that resembled a pine cone but with a yellow interior sweeter that anything i have tasted in my life"

[aestheticdogg]

In Costa Rica they're actually a big problem since it's replacing natural ecosystems with big green deserts, plus huge agrochemical pollution and barely legal labour conditions

[MarcAus]

An interesting fact about the cultivation in England was that even being in a greenhouse wasn't enough to reliably produce the fruit, it had to be kept much hotter than the sun could maintain it, especially in winter, so a special greenhouse was constructed which had massive decaying piles of manure in the walls to give off the necessary heat. A short pineapple pit could produce maybe a dozen fruit but required 15 tons of manure, which had to be kept topped up year round.

[carlramirez]

In the Philippines, fibers are extracted from pineapple leaves, and it is used to make the Barong Tagalog.