New York City is a bustling, thriving metropolis of 8.4 million people, each of whom has a story to tell and insights to share. But there’s already Humans Of New York for anyone who may still be interested in that kind of thing. What Humans doesn’t make clear, however, is that many of those New Yorkers are inconsiderate slobs who carelessly leave their discarded banana peels any old place. Sidewalks. Gutters. On top of recycling bins. And maybe all those peels have stories of their own. Well, now there’s a site for those kinds of anecdotes as well, called Bananas Of New York.
The format is exactly the same as Humans Of New York: A candid photo of a genuine New York banana (or, more often, banana peel) is accompanied by some kind of quasi-intimate testimonial or confession or philosophical musing. Weed and the hiding thereof are major motifs. In this recent example, a disappointed peel talks about the hazards of raising children:
My son is the worst at hiding his weed. I don’t understand how he can even begin to think what he’s doing is discreet. First of all, he knows I don’t want him smoking. He knows I don’t want it in the house. He knows he’s grounded if I find it but then, one day, I open up the fridge and he’s taped a dime bag to the back of the almond milk. Does he really think I won’t see that?
Bananas Of New York casts a wide net to get diverse reactions from New York produce. Some of the interviewees here include an apple (“I’m not a banana”) and a coconut (“I’m not a banana, dude”). But most of the stories are indeed from the familiar yellow fruits, who have been icons of comedy since time immemorial. Bananas Of New York had better do its work quickly. If science is to be believed, bananas may only be around for another decade or so. Some bananas, like the one below, have already retreated into nihilism. The caption simply reads: “Fuck you.”