Is there no end to it?
When I asked ChatGPT to find me the scientific paper on banana peels, it told me other things I didn’t know (of course it did – ChatGPT always ends its answers with, “would you like to hear other mind-bendingly stupid facts about banana peels?” and then it humps your leg).
Turns out, banana peels really were a menace and people had been complaining about it long before it became a sight gag. In the late 19th C, bananas were suddenly cheap and plentiful, particularly in cities like New York (and London – the notice above is from New Scotland Yard). Vendors sold them on street corners and people ate the banana and tossed the peel in the street.
Newspapers were all over it, there were real accidents, it was especially dangerous for horses. Eventually, cities introduced littering fines, especially with banana peels in mind.
So when guys like Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton came along, slipping on a banana peel was a natural gag because people were already concerned about them.
March 10, 2026 — 5:37 pm
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