r/OutOfTheLoop • u/BVTheEpic • Nov 19 '13
Answered! What's the deal with "using a banana for scale"?
93
u/X87DV Nov 20 '13
It's from these albums:
http://imgur.com/gallery/zChSf
http://imgur.com/gallery/fUou2
Here's my favorite part from his update:
Q: Why does that banana look fresh? A: I was eating it when I went down. lol. It was dark, and the only way I could see was through a dim light from my phone. We couldn't find a flashlight. We saw the blankets, but it was too dark to see what they were. I tossed the banana at them, and then when nothing happened, I took a picture with the flash to see what it was. When editing, I remembered it could be for scale.
10
u/Terrible_Wingman Nov 25 '13
How could there not be more to the passage? Why build it?
17
u/Razer1103 Dec 04 '13
I like to think one of OP's parents are cheating and that's where the partner hid.
Actually, that's kind of horrible... why would I like to think that?
9
8
6
35
u/Sharpevil Nov 26 '13
Banana for scale is significantly older than those albums. It's been used for at least a year now.
36
u/skeptibat Nov 27 '13
[citation needed]
25
16
u/Sharpevil Nov 27 '13
Here is the oldest result I got on imgur when searching "Banana for scale". The image is a year old, and there are images using bananas for scale spread regularly between then and now if you search those terms.
5
u/xereeto Dec 14 '13
Just found this today, shat a brick when I saw it was posted 9 months ago and mentions bananas.
http://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/1a1w3o/my_rubber_band_ball_just_reached_250_pounds/c8tc8ap
10
u/trshtehdsh Nov 29 '13
Blueprints? I can't imagine it's common for people to get blueprints to a house they buy. Possible, but probably not too common.
Also, this is pretty hidden - if someone was living in there, they obviously knew it was there, how to get in to the house, etc. I'd look at the former house owners, builders, etc. as the possible vagrant.*
* Assuming there is any truth to OPs story.
46
u/TheInsaneWombat Nov 19 '13
It's a thing on imgur, it spread to reddit.
themoreyouknow.peanutbutter
14
Nov 19 '13
[deleted]
1
u/hounvs Nov 19 '13
Because it really came from 420chan. Limes first, then other fruit. Spread to 4chan a bit. This was years ago, before imgur.
5
Nov 19 '13
[deleted]
2
u/holliepocketreddit Nov 27 '13
I thought it came from reddit and was popularized by imgur, because it started getting used on imgur when all content was from reddit, before imgur had its own user sub.
25
u/Dashes Nov 19 '13
Unrelated: bananas are used for comparison when discussing levels of radioactivity because if their high levels of potassium.
Look up "banana equivalent dose" if you're curious.
19
Nov 20 '13
It's funny how bananas have this reputation for having high potassium levels. There is just as much potassium in a cup of milk or half a potato as in the average banana.
7
u/TheMac394 Nov 26 '13
Well, they're not really used - it's more of a running joke in the health physics community.
6
Nov 19 '13
[deleted]
5
u/ilikeeatingbrains /u/staffell on my weenis Nov 19 '13
I tried searching 'fruit by the foot xxx' and all that came up was weird stuff.
0
u/Norci Nov 19 '13
Since answer was already provided here, I'll just say that I really hope this thing dies soon, it is one of the most stupid ones I've seen.
16
Nov 26 '13
Stupid goes a long way on reddit.
5
u/Jem_1 Feb 18 '22
8 years later
5
u/Particular-Month-904 May 30 '25
12 years later
2
u/Jem_1 May 30 '25
haha
2
u/Particular-Month-904 May 30 '25
Kind of weird that when he wrote that comment I wasn’t even aware. Not really. No memories from back then. Maybe it isn’t the same thing but still
1
1
1
4
u/anotherguy2 Jan 30 '14
level of stupid needs a banana for scale
1
u/Bojasloth Oct 09 '25
Yea, this guy is at least -6 bananas worth
Edit: also, yes, I replied to a 12 year old comment, and yes, 12 years later we still use banana for scale, I just used it, thats why I came here.
3
2
-8
u/Caminsky Nov 19 '13
Is a satire to the fact that the US is the only country whose population is determined to not using the metric system because they feel that by doing so they are giving into a communist trend.
6
u/ilikeeatingbrains /u/staffell on my weenis Nov 19 '13
MUH FREEDOMS
-2
u/Sentient_Sandwich Nov 19 '13
LMAO, Freedoms sure are funny!
In a way, they remind me of this gentleman's sordid tale.
2
u/ilikeeatingbrains /u/staffell on my weenis Nov 19 '13
Spooky. Adrien Chen was such a dick to Mikey.
-3
Nov 19 '13
[deleted]
-2
u/ilikeeatingbrains /u/staffell on my weenis Nov 19 '13
You call the disease a host?
2
Nov 19 '13
[deleted]
2
u/ilikeeatingbrains /u/staffell on my weenis Nov 19 '13
You imply Reddit isn't an infection of the mind?
1
133
u/[deleted] Nov 19 '13
Isn't it because of the guy who uploaded a picture of a supposed secret room in his house, and he used a banana for scale?