(1) Bananas were unavailable anywhere in the United States until two hundred years ago. (2) In the late nineteenth century, entrepreneurs began shipping bananas to the United States, and the tropical fruit became a huge commercial success. (3) This amazing growth in banana sales occurred despite the fact that bananas rot easily and must be transported thousands of miles, while apples grow near most US cities. (4) If bananas are too green, they can be put in a brown paper bag with an apple or tomato overnight to speed up the ripening process. (5) There are over 1,000 different kinds of bananas. (6) Most bananas grown without human assistance are quite small, only about the length of a finger. (7) In fact, the word "banana" comes from the Arabic word for "finger." (8) The variety of banana Americans know and love, the Cavendish, is much larger. (9) The seedless Cavendish does not grow naturally. (10) It is essentially "cloned," which makes every Cavendish banana a twin of every other Cavendish banana. (11) Cavendish bananas might appear to be strong, with its thick skins and ability to be shipped long distances without rotting or even bruising. (12) But their genetic identicalness is a great weakness: a disease that can make one Cavendish banana plant sick can make them all sick.