Now that we know what those annoying stringy bits on bananas are for, we've been thinking: why are they so curved?

Dole, the food company behind distribution of bananas all over the world, have the answers - and once you realise the reason behind the bend, you'll kick yourself.

So, on their website, Dole explain how the fruit grows out of banana flowers, which start as buds that grow out of the pseudostem (the strong trunk in the middle). See exhibit A:

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Beneath each flower petal, a row of tiny banana fruits start to grow.

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Once they're much bigger in size, the fruit goes through a process called negative geotropism. Which basically means instead of continuously grow towards the ground, they start to turn towards the sun, in order to retrieve light.

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Dole say the fruit does this because bananas grow in rainforests, where there is little sunlight, and if they were to grow towards the small amount of light that penetrates sideways through the vegetation, the plant could overbalance and topple over.

So, they're forced to grow upwards towards the breaks of light in the canopy.

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Tad-aaaah.

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Make sure you whip that out at your next pub quiz. The fact, not someone's banana.