Could a Banana Actually Kill You?

It sounds like clickbait, but it’s true: bananas are radioactive.

Bananas contain potassium. A tiny portion of that potassium is a naturally occurring radioactive isotope called potassium-40.

Before you throw out your fruit bowl, relax. The radiation is incredibly small — totally harmless.

In fact, scientists joke about something called the “banana equivalent dose” to explain radiation levels.

Here’s the wild part: you’d need to eat around 10 million bananas at once for it to be dangerous.

So no, bananas won’t kill you.

But now you get to casually say, “Technically, bananas are radioactive,” at dinner.

You’re welcome.