IT is time to pay tribute to Australia's most purchased grocery item: bananas.
Today has been declared Australia's inaugural National Banana Day.
A joint initiative of Australian Bananas and Hort Innovation, the day aims to help champion the industry and focus on the health benefits of bananas.
In tribute to the yellow bent wonder, here are some of our favourite pop culture banana references.
What have we missed?
BANANARAMA
FEW discos and nightclubs of the 1980s went an evening without hearing the harmonies of this English trio consisting of Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey and Keren Woodward.
Hits like "Venus" and "Love in the First Degree" ensured everyone knew their name while also trying to remember how many times the letter "a" is actual in there (It's five, trivia buffs).
BANANAMAN
MARVEL'S The Avengers might be currently taking the world by storm but Banana Man has probably done more for the fruit's consumption than any other hero.
What better way to encourage eating more bananas than by the example of a young English lad named Eric who turned into the muscle-rippling, if not a bit clueless, Bananaman.
'THAT' BANANA BOAT AD
YEP, it's already in your head.
Yep, it won't be going away for the rest of the day.
A rip of the Mah Na Mah Na song largely made famous by The Muppets, this song plugged Banana Boat sunscreen, via a lip-syncing baby.
Once this ear-worm is heard, it... just... won't...go...away.
MINIONS
THE lovable henchmen from within the Despicable Me animated films and their own Minions movie, have a die-hard love for bananas.
Fresh produce multinational, Chiquita, even signed a marketing deal with Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment to use the characters to push its bananas. Bello!
THE BANANA SPLITS
DON'T pretend you didn't watch it. The Banana Splits was a variety show on television based around a fictional rock band featuring four animal characters: Fleegle (guitar, vocals), Bingo (drums, vocals), Drooper (bass, vocals) and Snorky (keyboards, effects).
It's not entirely clear how many bananas actually featured in the show but its theme song is one for the ages.
BANANAS IN PYJAMAS
TUESDAYS have become perilous times for teddy bears, what with large fruits in sleepwear capturing them unawares, recklessly running down staircases.
The first series aired in 1992 on the ABC and featured real-life costume characters, bringing B1, B2, Amy, Morgan, Lulu and the conniving Rat In The Hat, to life.
In more recent years, the BIP were given a digital animation makeover while still holding to the classic format, including the line used in every marketing meeting throughout Australia when someone has an idea: "Are you thinking what I'm thinking B1?"
DONKEY KONG COUNTRY
VIDEO game players of the 1990s may recall the impact and sheer wow-power of the Super Nintendo's Donkey Kong Country.
The game, which featured 3D rendered graphics and innovative gameplay, pushed both console hardware, and players, to new levels.
At the heart of the story was the gorilla Donkey Kong and his nephew Diddy Kong, trying to recover their stolen banana hoard from King K. Rool.
These hairy monkeys sure knew the value of bananas.
BANANAS IN THE TAILPIPE (BEVERLY HILLS COP)
EDDIE Murphy's 1984 streetwise cop, Axel Foley, outsmarts two detectives on his tail by distracting them with food and then placing several bananas into the exhaust of their vehicle while they aren't looking.
The scene actually begins with a very comical interaction where Axel is given some bananas (by Damon Wayans no less) to help with the prank.
Who knew bananas could be used to shake off a bogey?
BRICK AND THE BANANA
A VERY brief scene within the film, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004) shows weatherman Brick Tamland (Steve Carell) simply cackling inappropriately with a banana.
It's not particularly a banana reference but the randomness of the half-eaten fruit just seems to add something.
Film historians/academics will no doubt see it as a tribute to the history of bananas in comedy films throughout the ages.
Ashley Walmsley
Ashley Walmsley is the editor of ACM's only national, fresh produce magazine, Good Fruit & Vegetables, while also covering horticulture stories for the agricultural papers and websites. He also writes the weekly, The Ringer, column in the Qld Country Life.
Ashley Walmsley is the editor of ACM's only national, fresh produce magazine, Good Fruit & Vegetables, while also covering horticulture stories for the agricultural papers and websites. He also writes the weekly, The Ringer, column in the Qld Country Life.
