In article , Janet Baraclough.
.. writes
The message
from "Mike Lyle" contains these words:


An old lady I knew way back had a pill-box made of the two halves of
an orange peel: it looked just like leather. Try that with a
banana-skin! Perhaps these bygone Italian souvenirs were the origin
of the myth.

Pomanders made out of whole oranges last ages too; because the skin is
preserved (with rubbed-in alum, possibly).

I think it's simply that the skin (and the rest of the fruit) dries out.
Certainly pomanders that I've made simply by sticking cloves into
satsumas have showed no signs of rot several years later.

Maybe you could make a banana
skin into a pomander, or something more useful, if you really tried.

You ca 'paint' on the whole banana by pressing with a sharpish object -
the bruised bit goes black and you can make quite striking designs. Of
course the whole skin goes black as the banana ripens so it's an
ephemeral effect. But quite fun if you really don't have anything else
to do with your time.
--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"