Do you know ...
why bananas don't have seeds?
Bananas are a species that can reproduce with or without being pollinated. When they reproduce without pollination, seedless, sterile bananas are born. Naturally, humans prefer the full-bodied seedless bananas compared to wild bananas (which actually do have seeds, and not much fruit). These sterile bananas are propagated asexually by rooting banana plant cuttings. Because they have no chance for genetic recombination, every banana you buy in the store is genetically identical - clones of one banana variety. (Note: This genetic sameness means that the world export banana crop is highly vulnerable to wide-sweeping blights. Luckily, many banana varieties survive in the wild or are maintained by small-scale farmers, which can be used to breed new banana varieties. Thus, while sterile varieties may come and go, the banana species will survive.)
... that the strong chemical you taste in wasabi is a potent insecticide?
Wasabi, the hot green paste that goes with sushi, comes from a plant related to cabbage. Its pungent taste comes from several compounds called allyl isothiocyanates, which are also found in horseradish, cabbage and mustard. Allyl isothiocyanate is such a powerful insecticide that it kills most insects as soon as they try to take a bite out of the wasabi plant! But don't worry - it's non-toxic to humans, and there is some evidence that this strong bioactive chemical has anti-microbial and anti-cancer effects.
...that seaweed (as in, the green stuff that wraps around sushi) has higher relative protein content than the fish in the sushi?
In fact, seaweed has the highest protein as a percent of calories of any raw food measured: 90 percent, compared with 76 percent in fish, 31 percent in beef and 60 percent in chicken. It's also high in iron, iodine and magnesium, which makes seaweed a great vegetarian source of many of these nutrients that are normally found in animal-source foods.
... that seaweed (as in, the green stuff that wraps around sushi) has higher relative protein content than the fish in the sushi?
In fact, seaweed has the highest protein as a percent of calories of any raw food measured: 90 percent, compared with 76 percent in fish, 31 percent in beef and 60 percent in chicken. It's also high in iron, iodine and magnesium, which makes seaweed a great vegetarian source of many of these nutrients that are normally found in animal-source foods.
Anna Whitson Herforth is a graduate student at the Friedman School. She has a BS in plant science from Cornell University.
