Go Bananas (PART 1 OF 3)
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Kato, you're preoccupied with bananas, aren't you?
Me? ... preoccupied with bananas?
Yes, you are. You talked about the bananas at the Garden of Eden the other day, didn't you?
Yes, I did, but I'm not particularly fond of bananas.
Then how come you've brought up bananas again?
Well ... Diane, do you remember the following passage in the banana story?
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Diane, have you ever heard of a true story in which Adam and Eve ate a banana instead of an apple?
No kidding!
I'm not joking nor jesting. I'm dead serious!
Kato, are you out of your mind? All the Christians have been believing for centuries that Adam and Eve ate an apple in the Garden of Eden. If you say this banana nonsense, you're gonna be a laughingstock on the Net.
I know, I know..., but what I'm saying is true.
You must be out of your mind, Kato. Why don't you wake up and wash your face again in the ice-cold water?
So, Diane, you don't believe me, do you?
Nobody believe you, Kato. What the heck makes you think so?
Actually, I borrowed a translated version of the best-seller called "Banana."
I see ... so you've simply gone bananas after reading it, haven't you?
Well ... Diane, at least, you've got a good sense of humor ...
Kato, do you really believe such a foolish story?
No, this is NOT a foolish story. Look at the following catalogue page.
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■“Actual Library catalogue”
I see... so, Kato, you've read the Japanese version, haven't you?
Yes, I have. The above book is one of the best non-fiction books I've ever read in my life.
SOURCE: "Banana @ Eden"
(June 10, 2013)
Kato, what about the above passage?
Well ... I'm just wondering where the go-bananas phrase came from.
It's obvious, isn't it?
What is obvious, Diane?
You see ... many people believe for centuries that Adam and Eve ate an apple in the Garden of Eden. Then all of a sudden, you mentioned the above nonsense, that is, go for bananas, instead of apples. That's why "go bananas" means "go out of one's mind."
But, Diane, the phrase has been around for quite a while. As you know, people said the phrase before the above book goes public. You told me your explanation simply because I told you the banana story.
According to the story, the naturalist Carl Linne told the world that Adam and Eve ate a banana, not an apple, didn't he?
Yes, he did.
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Carl Linne (1707 - 1778)
The yellow sweet banana was gaven the scientific name of "Musa sapentium" from the Latin word which means "knowledge" after the tree of wisdom that knows good and evil.
In addition, the green banana (a.k.a "plantain" used as a cooking) was named "Musa paradisiaca," that is, "banana paradise."
Genus "Musa" that Linne named comes from the Arabic word "mauz," which means the banana.
It is understandable because bananas appear in the holy garden depicted in the Koran---the holy scriptures of Islam written in Arabic.
In the Koran, the tree in the forbidden Eden is called "talh," which is usually translated as "tree in a paradise," or more directly "banana tree."
The scriptures of Islam indicates, "The fruit grows abundantly in the shade of luxuriant foliage... and you can see the fruit in all the year round."
This depiction certainly matches the way bananas grow in the tree.
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(translated by Kato)
SOURCE: ２４-２６ページ 『バナナの世界史』
著者： ダン・コッペル 訳者： 黒川由美
２０１２年６月３日 第１版第２刷発行
発行所： 株式会社 太田出版
"Banana" by Dan Koeppel
(To be followed)
