Banana

Few people realize that the banana was the product of early radiation experiments in the South Pacific in the late 1940's. These experiments were conducted on the Bikini Atoll, later the site for a hydrogen bomb explosion, and were conducted under the auspices of the Bikini Atoll Native Plantain Mutation Assignment, BANPAMA, in an effort to produce an edible fruit for the army, that would not decay or degrade with age. The Plantain was selected since it has a tough outer cover that provides protection for the fruit; unfortunately, it is not very palatable when raw. The BANPAMA project was not particularly successful, as the resulting fruits were found to bruise easily. However, they were still fed to unsuspecting natives and servicemen, where they became quite a hit. Introduced to the U.S. as "Banamas" in 1951, by former military scientists who saw there was more money in agriculture than in early attempts at genetic engineering, they immediately became something of a rage. By 1958, "Bananas", as they were known by then, were grown throughout central and south america to feed the hungry Nepal market.