Food company Dole claims to be creating a ridiculously brilliant wearable banana for the Japanese marathon.
Bananas are great. A fine source of potassium, they are the fruit of choice for athletes right across the sporting spectrum.
Tennis players, footballers, runners and the like all revert to nature’s finest fuel source when in need of quick replenishment, and Dole thinks it can improve on mother nature’s own creation.
By opening up the banana peel and inserting wired parts, Dole’s creation looks like it can show runners their time, heart rate and even tweets as they go.
It also tells them when is the opportune time to eat the banana, although it’s not clear what happens to the ‘smart’ technology after this happens.
“The power source is a small battery connected to the wearable banana. Inside the battery there are ultracompact LEDs and other electronic components,” said Dole Japan spokesperson Itaru Kunieda to CNet, with the company claiming two of the 30,000 runners at the marathon this weekend will ‘wear’ the bananas.
Alas, unfortunately this is but a marketing ploy, highlighting the world’s growing thirst for smart devices and connectivity.
Elsewhere, ketchup maker Kagome has unveiled its own wearable tomato dispenser for the marathon, to allow runners to consume tomatoes hassle free throughout the race. The tomatoes are held in a large device on the user’s back and transported into his or her mouth via a piece of machinery.
To be fair, if sports enthusiasts continue to feel the need to wear as much tech on their body as physically possible, then why not smarten up our fresh fruit?
Banana image via Shutterstock
