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Bananas, the world\u2019s favourite fruit, were first displayed in London on 10th April, 1633, in the shop window of botanist Thomas Johnson, editor for Gerard\u2019s Herball.\nDespite societal taboos surrounding the banana's suggestive shape, its journey from obscurity to ubiquity was later propelled by Minor Cooper Keith, whose entrepreneurial endeavours in Costa Rica transformed the fruit into a global commodity - albeit one entangled in the power struggles and exploitation of Central America, earning the term "Banana Republic."\nIn this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal why banana-flavoured sweets DO taste like bananas; examine how English horticulturalists forever stamped their mark on this tropical fruit; and consider whether the fruit Eve reached for in the Garden of Eden was actually a banana\u2026\nFurther Reading:\n\u2022 \u2018How the Banana Came To Be\u2014And How It Could Disappear\u2019 (Lithub, 2023): https://lithub.com/how-the-banana-came-to-be-and-how-it-could-disappear/\n\u2022 \u2018Mystery of the Tudor banana\u2019 (The Guardian, 1999): https://www.theguardian.com/uk/1999/jun/16/maevkennedy\n\u2022 \u2018Who Was The Man Behind The Banana Republics Of Central America?\u2019 (Timeline, 2024): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDH9JEuYUNA\nLove the show? Join \U0001f334CLUB RETROSPECTORS \U0001f334 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!\nPlus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.\nJoin now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!\nWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors\nThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.\nTheme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.\nCopyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024.\n\n Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices