Banana peels also are wonderful for removing callus from your feet....just put the inside of the skin next to your foot, put on a sock and go on with your day....repeat for 3 or 4 days and you will have feet SABA.
Or....add the peel to your rose garden and you will have roses fit for the Queen!
Linda C

There wasn't a mention of keeping the banana polisher in a banana bunker. This would come in handy if you wanted to throw it in your luggage so as not to bruise it in transit.

That's terrific! And quite a surprise!

They're also great in the garden compost pile as most folks know, add good stuff to the soil.

just put the inside of the skin next to your foot, put on a sock and go on with your day....

Linda, wouldn't the peel get squishy?

Michelle

I guess smoking the strings isn't an acceptable alternate use? Not like anyone ever did that or anything.

I just put mine down the garbage disposal and call the plumber when they back up my washing machine drain pipe dammit!

Then there's Cheez Whiz
...this product can remove grease from clothes. The natural enzymes in Cheez Whiz cut through the grease. Just put a glob on the grease stain, let it stand for five to 10 minutes and put it in the washer.

And then some uses for potatoes 1. Safely Remove Broken Lightbulbs
I learned about this use when the bulb in my porchlight became lodged in the fixture. First, I shut off the power at the breaker box. Then, I tried to remove the bulb by twisting it with a gloved hand. The glass part broke off, leaving the base in the fixture. I then cut the top part off a raw potato (so I 'd have a flat surface) and I planted it firmly onto the base. I twisted the potato, unscrewed the base of the lightbulb, and safely removed it.

2. Cure Common Warts
Raw potatoes are chock full of Potassium, Vitamin C and Iron. If you have a common wart you want to get rid of, cut off a piece off a raw potato. Rub the flesh side over the wart so it's completely covered with the juice. Then, discard the potato piece. Don't rinse the juice off. Do this daily until the wart is gone.

3. Soothe Minor Skin Burns
Another unusual use for a raw potato is to treat minor skin burns. The next time you get a burn, peel and dice up a small potato- or use a piece of a peeled potato, depending how large the affected area is- into fine pieces. Add a bit of tap water, just enough to make a paste. Apply the potato paste to the burn and let it set undisturbed for several minutes. You should feel relief from the pain.

4. Remove Berry Stains From Your Hands
Wash and cut up fresh berries, and you know your hands are going to end up being the same color as the berries. Berry stains on your skin are tough to remove. Soap and water just doesn't cut it. But if you rub the stains with a peeled, raw potato, they should come right off! Finish by rinsing the juice and the berry stains off your hands with plenty of tap water.

5. Remove Excess Salt From Soups and Stews
You taste the soup or stew you're cooking on the stove and you notice it tastes too salty. What to do? Simply cut up one or two washed, raw potatoes and drop them into the pot. Allow the potato to cook for several minutes, then use a slotted spoon to remove the pieces. Then, taste your cooking again. The potato will have absorbed the excess salt, and your soup or stew should be fine now!

6. Get Rid of a Throbbing Headache
The next time a headache has your head pounding, don't reach for the aspirin. Reach for a raw potato instead. Slice the potato in half and place a piece on each temple. Gently rub your temples with the potato until the pain lets up.

7. Give Your Geraniums a Nutritional Boost
If you're planting young Geranium plants, or you have existing plants that are looking a little anemic, a raw potato can help make them grow better. Just cut up a small raw potato and place it into the hole along with the plant. To give existing Geranium plants a boost, dig some of the soil out and away from the stem. Place the pieces of raw potato around the stem, then replace the soil.

I know cabbage leaves can relieve minor pain from bruises, skinned knees, etc.

When I was teaching I kept a head of cabbage in the refrigerator at school. And when one of my students had a minor mishap I would break off a cabbage leaf, run it under hot water until it starts to wilt a bit and then apply it to the affected area. The kids thought this was the coolest thing and it did seem to help.

Michelle

I want to know what's an "uncommon wart"...
And yes! of course the banana skin gets squishy...that's what makes it such a good thing to go squishing around in your sox with a banana skin softening your calluses while you go!

Regarding the shoe shine website. Toward the bottom of the page, it gives a list of things needed: banana, buffing cloth, scruffy shoes, & a CHEESE GRATER. Huh? Did I miss something?

I knew that! It's an old, old household hint, and I have an enormous collection of such things.

The medicinal uses of banana:

The flowers are used to treat bronchitis and dysentery and ulcers. Cooked flowers are given to diabetics. The astringent plant sap is given to treat hysteria, epilepsy, leprosy, fevers, haemorrhages, acute dysentery and diarrhoea, and it is applied on haemorrhoids, insect and other stings and bites. Young leaves are placed as poultices on burns and other skin afflictions. The ashes of the unripe peel and of the leaves are taken in dysentery and diarrhoea and used for treating malignant ulcers. The roots are administered in digestive disorders and dysentery. Banana seed mucilage is given in cases of catarrh and diarrhea. Banana skin, placed on a wart with skin side out, and taped on, will help get rid of warts. Eating a banana will ease heartburn and stress. Because of its high iron content, the fruit is useful in cases of anaemia.

The inside of a freshly-peeled banana is an excellent first aid dressing for cuts, abrasions, minor wounds and burns. Bind loosely with a bandage and renew every 3 hours until it is relieved.

For frostbite, cover the area with the inside of a banana skin.

Mashed banana makes an excellent moisturising face-mask.

For a hangover:
Boil 2 Banana peels in a cup of water, cool and drink.

To prevent fruit-fly:
Slice a banana peel into strips, put into a plastic 2 litre bottle. Combine 1 cup sugar, 1 cup vinegar and pour into the bottle . Add water to within 5cm of the neck of the bottle. Hand around the lower branches of affected trees.

Emergency baby food:
In an emergency, a baby can be fed on a liquefied mixture of ripe banana or ripe coconut or coconut milk or carrot juice. Especially useful if a milk allergy is suspected, or if mother has taken ill. Until medical advice has been obtained, this is a short-term solution only.

Interesting tips! Since we live in bananalandia there's always been plenty of them in the supermarket or in our garden so for years I've been digging the skins in around the base of my roses and into the compost bins.

Didn't know about using them for cleaning shoes though....I'll have to pass that one on. Thanks. :-)

The only tip that I can add which I found useful...not with bananas though....is to use the

SharonCb

Here is a link that might be useful: More about Plantain - Prairieland Herbs

I'm still stuck on Mustangs post re banana. bunkers. Cathy, I am thinking of how to word this. ;-) I had a visual of using the banana peel to polish something else...a la the Evil One.

I may have to save some peels from the composte bin and...polish my shoes, smear my face but best of all break my back with banana peels in my clogs!

Actually, I'll pass the fruitfly one on to a friend whose husband goes bonkers with the occasional fruitfly. ;-)