Today I Learned...

Today I learned that a banana is actually a berry.  Strawberries, Blackberries and Raspberries are not berries, they are fruits.  Cucumbers, squash, tomatoes, green beans are fruits, not vegetables.  Actually, I knew about the tomatoes already, but someone should let the Grocer know he's got it all wrong!

Back to the Banana's though, I also learned the following:

1. The Cavendish is the kind of Banana found in grocery stores.
2. The Gros Michel was the original Banana of choice until it was almost wiped out completely by a fungus.
3. All bananas are genetically identical.  Perfect clones, but susceptible to disease.
4. There are over 1,000 varieties of Bananas in the world but very few are palatable.  When the Gros Michel was almost wiped out, the Cavendish was a perfect substitute.  There is not substitute for the Cavendish.
5. A cluster of bananas is called a hand, and a single banana is called a finger.
6. Bananas are naturally radioactive due to the Potassium 40 they contain.
7. Over 100 Billion bananas are consumed annually.

There were some additional points, but these ones seemed the most interesting to me.