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Five Food Facts about Bananas

1. Banana trees are considered giant herbs, not ‘trees’ at all.

2. A cluster of bananas is known as a hand, each banana are fingers.

3. Rubbing the inside of a banana peel on bug bites are said to relieve itching and inflammation.

4. Over 95% of American households purchase banana at least once a month.

5. Bananas are one of the only fruits harvested every day of the year. They do not grow in regions that have dramatic seasonal changes.

Today’s Food History

on this day in…

• 1884 Casimir Funk was born. Funk was a Polish-American biochemist who came up with the word ‘vitamine’ later changed to ‘vitamin.’

• 1896 Leo Hirshfield introduced the Tootsie Roll at his small store in New York City. It was supposedly named after his 5 year old daughter, whose nickname was ‘Tootsie.’

• 1931 RIP Helen Porter Mitchel, her stage name, Nellie Melba was a world famous operatic soprano born in Australia.  Melba Toast and Peach Melba were named for her.

• 1944  RIP Leo Hendrik Baekeland, a chemist who invented Bakelite, the first plastic that did not soften when heated. Those black plastic knobs on stoves were made of bakelite.

• 1997 Scientists in Scotland announced the first successful cloning of an adult mammal, Dolly, a sheep.