Beware of bananas bearing disease: legends about infected fruits

Abstract

In January - March 2020 social networks users were warning each other of bananas rumored to be contaminated with coronavirus. The motif of the “contaminated” bananas is in no way unique. This motif, truly international, is actualized whenever a massive epidemic breaks out. The paper dwells upon the history of the legend of contaminated fruits and vegetables, describes the variants of this plot and demonstrates the connection between such stories and xenophobia. Special attention is paid to the issue of which elements are preserved when this plot migrates to other genres. The legend about the dangerous fruits consists of two main motifs: 1. The fruits are contaminated because of having been in contact with the source of infection (the ethnic other). This motif is typical for the texts that tell of an epidemic that had started far away from the transmitter of the text, e.g., the outbreak of Ebola virus disease in West Africa or COVID-19 in China. 2. Contamination of the fruits is an act of malevolent sabotage. This motif accompanies the illnesses that are spreading in the homeland of the transmitters of the texts, e.g., AIDS or flu. The legend of the contaminated fruits allows to distance oneself from danger and flesh out some methods of protection that would be suitable for the group. The paper is based on urban legends about fruits contaminated with a dangerous infection that were published on social networks and messengers such as Twitter, Facebook, VKontakte and WhatsApp, as well as in mass media in Russian, English, French and Chinese.