Banana Peels to Heal Bruises

"Holding a banana peel over a bruise for 10-30 minutes will remove it's color!" 

Between work, hobbies and wrangler to two kids, I've had my fair share of bruises. So having seen this idea pin several times on pinterest I decided to give it a try. Despite testing it several times, it never once worked for me. Some of the pins suggest doing it right after you get hit, others seem to say it will fade already developed bruises, however if you bang your knee on a table and put a banana peel on it, and a bruise doesn't form - was it the peel or were you just not going to develop a bruise? I tested it both on newly hit areas, and bruises I already had, yet it didn't do a thing for me. (Other than making me looking silly, holding banana peels to my legs) 

Having looked up the contents of the banana peel, I was hoping perhaps there was some high content of some mineral or vitamin known to help the skin, and in turn people assumed it would help with bruises. However despite having vitamins like Manganese and Potassium, it has a much higher fiber and water content compared to an actual banana (source) In that case, why not just use an actual banana? 

Type in "How to get rid of bruises" on pinterest (or even google) will pull up dozens of different methods. I've personally tested out the banana peel method, but I'm going to list below some of the other ways they say you can fade a bruise:

• Listerine
• Bananas
• Vinegar
• Milk
• Hand Sanitizer
• Leeches 
• Onions
• Eat Pineapple, Parsley

Unfortunately - most of these will not work. That's not how bruises work. They are caused by bleeding under the skin. About the only one I can see being effective on that list is the leeches, but I don't know of anyone who happens to keep a jar of those handy around anymore. Anything else is just being placed on the surface of the skin, and won't have much of an impact on how fast the blood will fade.

There are some more traditional methods that you can try to help lessen the coloring and pain, such as icing the area and taking an NSAID or tylenol; however as I was researching various methods I came across one that seems to actually work faster than just time : Kinesio tape, also known as KT tape.

The interesting thing about this, is that there are well documented photos showing how well it works. 

from the blog Ride. Write. Repeat.

In fact because of how the tape is applied, you can see where the tape was aiding in the healing process. After searching details on this method, I found countless photos and examples of people with kinesio tape to help heal bruises. The way the tape works on your skin, the tension involved and how it pulls up on the skin; allowing the blood to better disperse. Though it might seem a bit overkill if you're just trying to heal a small bruise on your knee or arm, if you're facing a far more serious and painful bruise, this is the method I'd turn to. Leave the banana peels in the garbage. 

History of April Fool's Day

Love it or hate it, April Fools is a holiday that is hard to avoid. There is a lot of myth and legend surrounding the history of April Fool's Day, but what is the true history of the April Fools that we know today?

Well I've spent months researching the holiday for today's post. I first got the idea last year when I saw the above image. The truth behind the holiday took me by surprise. It didn't start out as a holiday for fools and pranks. It originated in victorian era France as a spring gift giving holiday. You see, before electricity and refrigeration, fresh food was scarce during the winter months, and people resorted to eating dried and salted meats throughout the cold season. So when spring finally hit and the rivers and ponds thawed it meant they could finally have fresh fish. What does fish have to do with all of this? Well much like the bizarre trade of tulips with the Dutch, come spring it became tradition to gift those you love with fresh fish. (source) The demand for fresh fish became so great, that they increasing sold at higher and higher prices. If you really loved someone, you didn't give fine chocolates, you gave fish. This tradition became so popular that they would often give "Fish Day" cards such as these.

But how did a national holiday of fish giving lend to the holiday we know today? It started back during WW1. (source) Occupying soldiers from outside of France witnessed this bizarre custom. Puzzled as to why the French would gift fish in such an elaborate way, they assumed it was some sort of prank. French soldiers also talked fondly of such traditions from back home as the bunkered down with allies in the trenches. Once the war was over and they returned to their home countries, the practice of pranking the ones you love stuck. However Fish Day is still celebrated today in France, but due to modern sensibility out has gone the practice of gifting real fish, and instead they use paper fish.

So if you take part in April Fool's Day just remember - it all started with fish. What are some of your favorite April Fools pranks? Let us know! Share your prank ideas on our facebook and twitter.

And as the french say today, "Un sot trouve toujours un plus sot qui l'admire" Happy Fish Day! 

Using a Banana To fix a broken CD

"Use a banana to fix a CD/DVD!"

A fan on our facebook page requested we look into ways to fix CDs. She had seen there was a pin out there for toothpaste, and I had one already saved that said banana, so I figured I'd tackle both of them in one post. So, can common household items fix your CDs? Yes, but.. some are better than others. 

Sketch of a disc : Make Use Of

It comes down to how CDs are made. You can see a lovely sketch made there to the right. They are all just plastic discs with aluminium backings, which allows the laser of the reader to bounce back and read the pits and notches engraved on the CD, very similar to how old records work. When a disc gets scratched, it's the protective plastic coating that was scratched. Rubbing a banana on it (some have also suggested car wax, peanut butter, banana peels, etc.) fills those scratches in temporally, allowing the disc to hopefully play right. But it's not a permanent fix, and really the idea of keeping a disc around that has banana goo stuck in the scratches is kind of weird. 

But what about toothpaste and the like? That is a definite YES actually. Because toothpaste is abrasive, it acts as a buffing compound that helps smooth out the top layer of plastic on the disc. This makes the scratches less noticeable by the laser, ensuring the disc can be read better. It has to be our tried-and-trusted old fashion high grit toothpaste, not the modern gel styles, but it does appear to work. So I'd keep the bananas in the kitchen and just grab your toothpaste instead. 

Before grabbing every ruined disc in your house though, I'd highly suggest reading this great write up over at "Make Use Of", where he goes more in depth about how this works and why (and also gives some great pointers if you're wanting to try it yourself).

Not post-related but I wanted to take the time to let you guys know I'm now on twitter too, so make sure to follow us at @dontpinthat