no bananas on the boat

[tomc]

[size 2]The Evils of the Banana[/size]
Bananas are a mainstay of most cultures and are the world’s most popular fruit. However, these deliciously yellow treats have no place at sea. Since the 1700’s, it has been widely believed that having a banana on board was an omen of disaster.
In the early 1700’s, during the height of the Spanish’s South Atlantic and Caribbean trading empire, it was observed that nearly every ship that disappeared at sea and did not make its destination was carrying a cargo of bananas. This gave rise to the belief that hauling bananas was a dangerous prospect. There are other documented origins to this superstition as well.
Another explanation for the banana superstition is that the fastest sailing ships used to carry bananas from the tropics to U.S. ports along the East Coast to land the bananas before they could spoil,” Chahoc said. “The banana boats were so fast that fishermen never caught anything while trolling for fish from them, and that’s where the superstition got started.
Another theory is that bananas carried aboard slave ships fermented and gave off methane gas, which would be trapped below deck. Anyone in the hold, including cargoes of imprisoned humanity, would succumb to the poisoned air, and anyone trying to climb down into the hold to help them would fall prey to the dangerous gas.
And finally, one of the better known dangers of bananas at sea, is that a species of spider with a lethal bite likes to hide in bunches of bananas. Crewmen suddenly dying of spider bites after bananas are brought aboard certainly would be considered a bad omen resulting in the cargo being tossed into the sea.
Any of these scenarios could be the reason behind fishermen’s mistrust of the yellow fruit, possibly all of them. Whatever the case may be, it is best that you don’t attempt to bring any bananas on board your next seafaring excursion, just to be safe.
[url "http://www.newsobserver.com/122/story/389886.html"]Read more about the Banana superstitions.[/url]
[signature]

[tomc]

Another theory is that bananas carried aboard slave ships fermented and gave off methane gas, which would be trapped below deck. Anyone in the hold, including cargoes of imprisoned humanity, would succumb to the poisoned air, and anyone trying to climb down into the hold to help them also would be a candidate for a sailcloth-and-chain sleeping bag for that final resting place on the bottom of the ocean. Giving credence to that theory may be similar tragedies in farm manure digesters that provide methane gas for powering farm heating facilities and equipment.
A possibly more plausible theory is that a species of spider with a lethal bite likes to hide in bunches of bananas. Crewmen suddenly dying of spider bites after bananas are brought aboard certainly would be considered a bad omen resulting in the cargo being tossed into the sea. It could have been more than spiders.
"Back in the old days, it wasn't unusual for spiders, scorpions and snakes to hide in banana bunches," said David Stephan, an extension specialist in the N.C. State Entomology Department. "Tarantulas, being the largest, would be the easiest to notice."
Stephan said most species of tarantulas and scorpions are not lethal but that a bite or sting will provide "a painful but not dangerous experience." He also said the snakes found could be small boa constrictors, which are tree climbers that can administer a nasty bite but not a lethal one.
One remarkable story has it that Fruit of the Loom underwear once had a banana along with the other fruits in the logo on the waistband label. An executive of the company learned of the superstition while on an offshore fishing trip. The fish were in a particularly uncooperative mood, so he stripped off his unmentionables. After that, he considered the banana ban a true taboo, and the banana was banished from the label.
This tale, however, may be more lore than fact.
"As far as I know, we've never had a banana on the logo, and I've been here for 35 years," said Teresa Sikes, a consumer services representative for Fruit of the Loom.
And just as the bananas on the Fruit of the Loom label might never have existed, the bad luck might not have, either.
"I know anglers who've eaten bananas and caught plenty of fish and have heard of anglers trolling with banana peels and catching fish on a dare," Chahoc said. "But why press your luck?
"You might peel a banana, drop the peel on the deck and then step on it. If you slip and break your neck, it will only confirm the superstition.
"The superstition has been around ever since anyone can remember, and that would certainly reinforce it for at least another century or two."
[signature]

[Tarpon4me]

You know, there are alot of silly superstitions out there, but I really believe this one might be true. I've never allowed bananas any of my boats, and I won't get on a boat that has one on it. I think an angler must have got on the bad side of the fish gods back in the day, and we're all paying for it now. [unsure]
[signature]

[davetclown]

hope this dosent include my banana creem sandwiches? those delisious yellow cakes filled with white creem filling... twice as good as a ty because they are twice the size of a pack of ties...[angelic]

there is still one store in my area that still sells them, but nobody sells moon pies any more, hope there aint any superstitions agains them...

well there was a bad superstition about taking women on a fishing boat, look how long that one lasted... (till the dawn of the two peice swim suit [laugh])
[signature]

[Tarpon4me]

LOL< sorry Dave, you'll have to leave the "banana cream sandwiches" at the house if you come out fishing on my boat. [] No banana's what's so ever, not even artificial bananna flavoring.

You're right Dave, women were considered bad luck until right around the conception of the two piece bathing suit. But seriously, bad luck or not, i'm not going to deny a beautiful woman passage on my boat in a bikini. LOL I think some grumpy old skipper came up with that one, just to keep his wife off the boat. [] (well, atleast back when I was single) The closest another woman get's to my boat now is when I dock the boat at the public landing, unless I want a knot on my head. [sly]
[signature]