Bananas Are Wal-Mart's Best-Selling Item And Other Strange Facts

Bananas are everywhere. Everyone has eaten one. They are a cheap fruit and great source of nutrients like potassium.

But, according to SciShow's Hank Greene, they are also freaky.

The folks over at SciShow have made a nifty little video explaining why and what we can do about it, along with some odd facts about this awesome fruit.

Here are a few highlights:

• The bananas we eat are fruity freaks created by humans. We have bred the seeds out them. All that remains are those tiny black specks.
  
• There are thousands of varieties of wild banana, but 99% of all bananas sold in supermarkets are genetically identical members of the Cavendish variety.
• Bananas are Wal-Mart's best-selling item.
• The could go extinct at any time. Their genetic uniformity is a dream for a killer fungus or disease.
• If you are under 40 you probably haven't ever eaten the banana that inspired "banana-flavored" candy, because it almost went extinct.
• That species — the Gros Michel — used to be as ubiquitous and genetically uniform as the Cavendish is today. It is supposed to taste better, but a single killer fungus wiped out all of the commercial crops.
• Gros Michel bananas are still around, but you have to go to a country like the Congo, or a super-expensive restaurant like French Laundry to get one.

See all the crazy banana facts: