How Monkeys Peel Bananas and Other Important Life Lessons

A quick YouTube search uncovers my suspicions are warranted; the message is spreading.

I try to learn something everyday, or at the very least improve on some knowledge or skill that I already possess. I think whether we are aware of it or not, that we all strive for this kind of growth. But how often - after the age of 12 - are we given a piece of knowledge that feels like it will inspire a movement? Imagine being one of the first few people to live by the rule that you always look both ways before crossing the street. That's how I have been feeling the last few days with regards to how I now peel a banana.

Since last week, when my friend Greg told me that monkeys peel bananas upside down, I have crossed over into a strange and glorious place and feel like I am now an important torch carrier.

After a little more research, I discovered that monkeys don't always peel a banana this way and when they do, they are actually peeling the banana from the top - since the fruit grows on the tree from its stem upward in a phenomenon known as "negative geotropism."

All you do is gently pinch the little nub on the bottom (actually the top) and it will split down the middle, and like a flower the banana is ready to reveal itself at your discretion, evenly and un-squished.

Aside from the ease in which peeling a banana becomes with this technique, the other immediate benefits are pretty evident. Since the little "strings" grow from the stem, you are less likely to have a ton of them attached to the banana. Also, holding the banana from the stem gives the fruit more stability while you are eating it and is less likely to pop out the bottom of the peel and fall to the floor when you go for that final bite.

Some people will argue that the end of the banana is always squashed and that they throw away the stub without consideration. But this could be one of the goals of the upside-down right side up banana peeling movement. Eventually humanity may start to stock, transport, display and keep bananas facing stem down if enough of us adopt this method of consumptive preparation.

Try this if you have never done it, but beware - you may compulsively feel the need to spread this technique to anyone you see holding a banana. And if you knew this method all along and have been doing it for years, then why did it take me so long to find out? I'm usually pretty on the ball when it comes to this kind of thing. Now all I need is a foolproof way to open a cardboard carton of milk and my breakfasts will be 100 per cent stress-free.