The slapstick trope of a person slipping on a banana peel is seen in everything from silent films to modern cartoons. By now, part of the comedy is how ubiquitous yet unlikely that scenario is. But the joke is rooted in reality, as banana peels were once a bona fide danger, especially in New York City. In the late 19th century, importers figured out how to bring bananas to the US before they rotted. The fruit became a sensation. Street vendors sold them individually, touting the banana's skin as a natural "sanitary wrapper," which buyers would discard in the street. For political reasons, the city was not up to keeping those streets clean.
Accounts and photos from the time are stunning. New Yorkers threw their trash in the street, where no one picked it up, leading the city to release wild pigs to eat the refuse. Dead animals lingered in gutters for days. In this environment, discarded banana peels rotted into slippery messes and mottled into a camouflaging brown.
Orange peels and potato skins caused slips and falls too, but pedestrians feared bananas, which scientists have since confirmed rank among the slipperiest of fruits. Letters to the editor demanded harsh penalties for discarding peels. Theodore Roosevelt, then New York City’s chief of police, declared war on banana peels, and gave a public address to his captains and sergeants on “the bad habits of the banana skin, dwelling particularly on its tendency to toss people into the air and bring them down with terrific force on the hard pavement.”
Newspaper accounts from the time confirm injuries and even deaths from banana peels. Read about the scourge of slippery banana peels and the campaign to end the risk at Atlas Obscura.
