The Banana and the Centennial International Exhibition in Philadelphia

The banana was first introduced to America at the Centennial International Exhibition of 1876 in Fairmount Park along the Skookal River. Many believe it originated in the rainforests of Southeast Asia where wild species still grow today. By the 1400s it had made its way to the west coast of Africa and onto the Canary Islands and the Caribbean where Portuguese and Spanish sailors brought it. Today you can buy a banana sometimes even a bunch for a dollar or less but when it first reached the United States in Philadelphia it was very much a luxury item. The precursor to the electric light hires root beer which was among the first root beers. This Japanese plant called the kudzu which became a plant