Banana-Shaped Caution Cones Are Clever & Uh, Cautionary

Redditor ShutUpLori shared a picture of a couple of banana peel caution cones. Pretty clever! A banana peel is usually the thing somebody slips on. Here, it’s the thing telling you not to. Finally, a banana with a responsible job.

The cones are made by Banana Products, a company whose name immediately raises an important question: what other kinda banana stuff could they sell? I’ve got a few ideas.

For one, Banana Beads. An idea best left in the brainstorming meeting. For two, Banandaids: imaginary band-aids shaped like bananas that also taste like bananas. Why would you want to eat a band-aid, you ask? Well, because it tastes like banana, ya dum dum! To be clear, these are jokes, not items in the company’s catalog. Please leave actual band-aids out of your fruit salad.

A Wet Floor Warning With Its Own Punchline

As for the actual cones, they’re meant to warn people about slippery floors. The bright yellow body resembles an upright banana with its peel spread out around the base. A dark tip finishes the look, while the sides carry a slipping-person symbol and wet floor warnings.

The cone carries the message in English, Spanish, and French: “Wet Floor,” “Piso Mojado,” and “Plancher Mouillé.” The shape supplies the joke; the lettering supplies the practical instruction. You don’t have to get the joke to read the warning.

Yes, Mario Kart Was Involved

Banana Products says on its About Us page that the design was inspired by Mario Kart for the Nintendo 64. That makes sense. Apparently, all those years spent dodging banana peels in a video game were preparing us for real-life floor safety. Who knew?

The banana has some practical specifications, too

The joke also has a practical side beyond the unusual silhouette. In the manufacturer’s current product information, the cones are described as stackable with or without their attached stems. Replacement stems are listed separately, too. So the banana theme extends to the top, but it doesn’t stop the cones being stored in a stack or having a missing tip replaced.

The manufacturer describes the cones as polypropylene and lists two-foot and three-foot versions in its current catalog. These are full-size warning signs, then, rather than tiny novelty bananas for a desk. The product page describes the cone as four-sided, giving the printed warnings more than one face around the upright body.

The company also currently lists a separate, foldable Banana Sign on its product page. That’s a different format from the upright cone described here. According to its listing, the flat sign measures 24 by 12 by 2 inches and can be folded or hung for storage. It also has four rubber stoppers on each side, which the company says are intended to help prevent skidding if someone steps on it. No Band-Aids, then, but there is more than one way to turn a banana into a warning sign.

Still, the original cone has the best visual punchline: take something associated with slipping, make it enormous, and ask it to warn people about slipping. Pretty clever. Just resist the urge to throw it at the person ahead of you.