Thursday, September 6, 2007

Bananas Float

Yes, it is true. Bananas float. This is my sole contribution to the world of science. I am not sure about other fruit, but I have my suspicions.

How, you may ask, did I come to this profound conclusion? (Huh? and WTF? are also perfectly acceptable reactions).

Well, I will tell you.

As a teenager, I worked in Swensens Ice Cream parlor. Swensens thing, if you did not have them, was that they made all their ice cream on the premises. That was my job, I made ice-cream. I was a Manufacturer.

Being the Manufacturer had many perks:

1. I did not have to serve the public.
2. I made my own hours (the ice cream took approx. 24 hours to freeze after it was made, so it did not really matter when I made it). I could go to work at midnight if I really wanted to.
3. I did not have to talk to the public.
4. I did not have to wear a uniform, as the machine was in the back.
5. I did not have to interact with the public in any way, shape, or form.

So, one day while making some sort of banana-intensive flavor, I was cutting up bananas and dropped a slice into a sink full of water. It floated. I was intrigued. I dropped several more pieces in, just in case. They all floated. And then, being a curious lad, I dropped in a whole banana and then an entire bunch. They all floated.

This was one of those wow moments in a young mans life. An epiphany, if you will. I had discovered the scientific process, something I had happily ignored throughout my school career.

In someone else, this might have sparked an interest in science, a passion for testing how the world works. An eagerness even, to learn the fundamental truths of the universe.

Me? I devised a plan that if trapped on a deserted island, I would build a raft out of bananas and then eat them as I sailed along. This plan is not without its flaws, as I would eventually eat my raft, but there you go.

So, bananas float. No fooling.

Cheers,
-Jason

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

There is one question you must ask, do rotten bananas float?


I love science, no matter how small every little neat thing i see shows just how interesting God made the earth (ps. i am Christian)

Jason Janicki said...

Good question. I didn't have any rotten bananas on hand, but if I ever do, I will test that.

Science is neat. I always enjoyed biology, but could never wrap my head around physics. Never tried chemistry.

Unknown said...

Have anyone read 'The life of Pi" it mentioned floating bananas in there as well...i asked my teacher this, she didnt believe me..but when i showed her i guessed she had to..

Jason Janicki said...

No, I haven't? What's it about, other than floating bananas?

Anonymous said...

Life of Pi is basically about an Indian boy named Pi Patel who is a castaway stuck on a lifeboat with a tiger in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. He manages to survive after 227 days until he reaches land.
It's a pretty good story but there's a lot to talk about with that book. By that, I mean, you can pick which ending you want to believe, so it creates a discussion on which parts of the book were "real" and which were made up. Despite it being a fiction, it claims to be a story to make you believe in God.
It is one twisted book, let me tell you that.

Jason Janicki said...

Huh - interesting. I may have to check that out . . . Thanks!

Anonymous said...

I just read that book for an essay I must do...the fact is that the orangatun would need hundreds of bananas and the tarp would had to have giant wholes beacuse he could not grab one single banana...it confuses me at how they talk about the floating bananas and the monkey...