What is the origin of the 'Banana Skin' joke, the use of rubber chickens in Comedy and the act of throwing a custard pie in someone's face?

October 25, 2005 2:27 AM

What is the origin (i.e. first instance and first proponents) of the 'Banana Skin' joke, the use of rubber chickens in Comedy and the act of throwing a custard pie in someone's face? I have been searching the web no no avail!
posted by sam and rufus to media & arts (9 comments total)

Ha! One I can answer. I have heard (from Alton Brown) that the popularity of bananas in the early part of the 20th century led to people flinging the skins everywhere, and hence, the joke.

I'm not sure about the other two.

KFJ
posted by kungfujoe at 3:32 AM on October 25, 2005

Mabel Normand is said to have been the first person to throw a custard pie in a movie.
posted by misteraitch at 4:41 AM on October 25, 2005

But obviously these things all come out of the vaudeville tradition and long predate movies. You should look for a book on vaudeville history.
posted by languagehat at 7:34 AM on October 25, 2005

I read recently about banana skins being representative of the pollution in New York City circa the turn of the 20th century. Public campaigns highlighted the danger of leaving banana skins on the ground [as well as other trash], but particularly the banana due to its highly visible color. The campaign against errant banana skins eventually led to the widespread use of municipal garbage facilities.

This message board posts corroborates what I read. Although, I got my information from an Uncle John's Bathroom Reader.

As for the other traditions, I have no idea.
posted by cloeburner at 8:29 AM on October 25, 2005

I have to disagree about the banana skins. As far as I was aware they were a specific euphemism for dogshit in comedy routines - it was originally noticed that there was lots of dogshit on the streets, and people slipped in it, which is FUNNY. But it's not a particularly practical device when used on stage, especially for family audiences, so they were replaced by banana skins, which are family safe, even though they're not quite as slippery as turds, and certainly less abundant.

I'd better try and find some evidence to back this up.
posted by nylon at 9:12 AM on October 25, 2005

This article by Umberto Eco in the New Statesman contains the following words: But I have read that it's not true that banana peel makes you slip. ... when a person had to slip, the alternative was dog mess on the pavement. ..., but I can't access the article to find out more. Google result for 'banana dog slip'.
posted by nylon at 10:19 AM on October 25, 2005

Uh, I mean: this article. Which is now readable. The bit about 'dog mess' is at the bottom of the page. Maybe Umberto Eco could also clarify the origins of rubber chickens and pies-in-faces, if we ask politely.
posted by nylon at 12:31 PM on October 25, 2005

I think the dog turd thing is a long shot. I've stepped on lots of dog turds and never slipped. However, I have slipped twice on banana peels.

If you catch a petal of one of those suckers inside-face-down on the pavement they are like grease.

Luckily years of skinned knees have trained me to be very proficient at not falling over, so no injuries were suffered.

Wait, I take that back. On the first banana peel I had my hands in my pockets and I slid chest first into the corner of a brick wall and got a minor scratch.
posted by hifimofo at 6:22 PM on October 25, 2005

If you buy a rubber chicken from Archie McPhee, the tag explains the origins (which may well be apocryphal) of the rubber chicken as being from the French Revolution. I seem to remember something about soldiers hanging rubber chickens from their muskets' bayonets, but I would have no idea why.
posted by Vidiot at 9:35 PM on October 27, 2005