A Scottish town banned bananas in preparation for its boat festival.
Yes, you read that correctly.
Portsoy, Scotland, decided to ban the fruit in a bid to ward off potential misfortune ahead of the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Traditional Boat Festival on July 4 and 5, as superstitious seafarers regard bananas as bad luck on boats, according to The (Scotland) Herald.
Banana ban signs are posted across the town and an amnesty was introduced with businesses supporting the decision.
Portsoy ice cream even removed the banana-flavored ices from its range until after the event.
“Bananas may be a delicious fruit, but they are considered bad luck on boats,” Roger Goodyear, chairman of the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Traditional Boat Festival, told the paper.
“We want to do everything possible to make sure our 2015 festival is a success and we don’t want to take any chances,” he said. “Our ban on bananas is a tongue-in-cheek nod to our seafaring heritage and is a reminder that the ocean can be a mystical, but dangerous place and, as such, there are many traditional superstitions among fisher people.”
