Why Bananas Are Bad Luck on Fishing Boats

While there is much contention as to how the superstition began, many people believe that having a banana aboard your boat will spell serious trouble for your fishing expedition. The origins of this superstition date back hundreds of years, and the details often vary from person to person; however, many people highly regard one thing as truth: bananas are bad news. Before you set forth on your San Fran sailing adventure, be sure to check out the three most popular theories as to why bananas are bad luck on fishing boats.

During the days when cargo moved via ship, crews had to work fast to ensure that their goods did not spoil before reaching port. Vegetables and fruit, including bananas, were particularly notorious for spoiling quickly. As speed was key, crews could not afford much time to fish during the expedition. This may lead to the superstition that having bananas aboard the boat during your next fishing trip will lead to a day of unremarkable catches. Additionally, bananas emit quite a bit of ethylene gas, which can cause other produce to ripen and spoil more quickly. This could spell serious trouble for the sailors of yore, as they were often out at sea for months at a time. By virtue, rotten food supply could quickly lead to starvation.

One of the more sensible theories regarding the infamous banana superstition is the connection between bananas and spiders. Oftentimes, bananas weren’t the only piece of cargo transported by ship. Spiders frequently made themselves at home inside the damp, dark banana crates and may cause harm to any who dared disturb them. These tropical spiders were often venomous, and a single bite by this creepy crawlies could cause serious injury to crew members. Considering medicine was unadvanced at this time, it was often in the crew’s best interest to nix bananas altogether, rather than hope for the best with a home-brewed anti-venom concoction.

Perhaps the grimmest theory as to why bananas are bad luck on fishing boats is due to their connection with shipwrecks. Before the days of coast guards and radio communication, an SOS signal was a bit more difficult. As such, many ships sank without the knowledge of anyone other than the captain and crew. As a ship drifted into the oceanic abyss, certain items would begin to float to the surface, including bananas. Floating bananas, therefore, served as an indicator to passing boats that there was likely a shipwreck nearby. It didn’t take long for people to start making the connection between bananas and shipwrecks. As people passed the stories along and they became more exaggerated, so too did the correlation between bananas and wrecks.