It's totally okay to eat the stringy bits on a banana, even if it's not to everyone's tastes. Photo / stock
It's totally okay to eat the stringy bits on a banana, even if it's not to everyone's tastes. Photo / stock
Why is it called 'mufti day' what does it mean?
This Muslim term dates back to the 19th century when British Army officers serving in India took to dressing in the local style when they were off-duty.
The dressing gown, smoking cap and slippers were originally worn by Islamic scholars,called Mufti (مفتي).
Over time, it was used to describe someone who wasn't wearing a uniform.
There are a few theories about this: There was a boxer in the late 1800s called Larry Foley.
He won a prize of one thousand pounds and was featured in a New Zealand newspaper with the headline "Happy as Larry", and the saying stuck.
The first mention was in 1875 by New Zealand writer George Llewellyn Meredith who wrote: "We would be as happy as Larry if it were not for the rats".
Another explanation is a play on the word 'larrie', a Cornish word used to refer to a practical joke.
Why do cats knead?
Sometimes called 'kneading dough' or 'making biscuits', any cat owner will likely have noticed their feline friend pushing their paws on soft surfaces.
According to Live Science, it's not known exactly why they do this, but there are two strong hypotheses.
We're not certain why cats knead but there's a few theories. Photo / stock
The first is that this harks back to their kitten days when they would knead their mother's belly, by their teat, to encourage milk.
Then when the cat is an adult, it does this when it's happy because it associates this movement with being comfortable.
Another theory is that kneading is an instinctive behaviour from before cats were domesticated and they'd need to pat down grass or foliage to make a comfortable place to sleep.
How does chemotherapy work?
Chemotherapy is the process of using powerful drugs to treat disease - most often cancer.
According to the Breast Cancer Foundation NZ, chemotherapy targets all rapidly dividing cells which disrupts cancer cells but also those found in hair follicles, fingernails and toenails, the digestive system and the blood.
However, these healthy cells are generally able to repair themselves while the cancerous cells are more likely to die off.
Treatment plans and cycles are calculated for each patient to allow the healthy cells to recover between doses.
Chemotherapy works by stopping all cell renewal in the hopes the bad cancer cells will die off. Photo / stock
What are those stringy bits on a banana? And should I eat them?
While not to everyone's taste, the stringy bits certainly won't kill you if you can't be bothered pulling them off your freshly peeled banana.
Scientifically known by their technical name, phloem bundles, the stringy bits are really important - they deliver nutrients to different parts of the fruit (while xylem circulates water).
