🍌 A true story

In September 2026, in a village in Malappuram district, Kerala, a self-styled healer ran a centre where he claimed a jinn, a spirit, helped him cure illnesses and solve people’s problems.

One day, in front of a crowd, he held up an ordinary-looking banana. He said it contained the jinn’s magic, and auctioned it. Someone paid about ₹2,000 for it! When the buyer peeled the banana, the fruit inside was already cut into pieces, though the peel had no cuts at all.

A video spread on social media. Then some villagers had a clever idea. They brought their own banana to the centre and asked the healer to do the magic again. He turned it over in his hands… and gave it back. This time, the banana stayed just a banana. Soon afterwards, the men left the village.

🧪 Try It Yourself

What you need

• 🍌 Two ripe bananas
• 🪥 A wooden toothpick Ask a grown-up
• 🍽️ A plate
• 🧑‍🤝‍🧑 A friend

📄 Download the worksheet (PDF)

Part 1: Make a “magic” banana

1. Look closely at a banana. Its peel is not round, but has long edges, or ridges, running from end to end.
2. Out of sight, gently push the toothpick into one of the edges, through the peel and about halfway into the fruit.
3. Wiggle the toothpick from side to side, like a windscreen wiper, to cut the soft fruit inside. Then pull it out.
4. Do the same at two or three more places along the banana. Rub the peel gently with your finger. Can you still see the tiny holes?

Part 2: The show, and the fair test

1. The show: give your friend the banana, and say it contains magic. Ask them to peel it. What do they find inside?
2. The villagers’ test: now ask your friend to bring a banana that you have never touched. Can you make it “magic” while they watch you all the time?
3. Detective check: look very closely at the edges of the peel of the first banana. Can you find the tiny holes now that you know where to look?

💡 The Science Behind the Trick

Soft inside, tough outside. A banana’s fruit is soft and easy to cut, but its peel is tough and bendy. A toothpick or needle makes only a tiny hole in the peel, and the peel closes up around it, so the hole is very hard to see.

Edges and brown spots hide the holes. A hole pushed in along an edge of the peel is almost invisible, especially on a banana with brown freckles. The cuts inside the fruit can’t be seen at all until the banana is peeled.

The magic was done before the show. The banana that was auctioned had been prepared in advance. That’s why the villagers’ test was so clever: a banana that nobody had prepared stayed perfectly whole. Magicians call this kind of secret preparation a set-up, and the “magic banana” is an old magic trick.

🧠 Think Like a Scientist

The villagers didn’t argue or shout. They did something much more powerful: they tested the claim. If the jinn’s power was real, it would work on any banana.

This works for every amazing claim. Use your own materials, watch all the time, and see whether the “power” still works. Real abilities pass this test. Tricks don’t.

🗣️ Now be the teacher

Ask your family how a banana could be sliced inside without cutting the peel. Then run the villagers’ test together: ask someone to bring a banana you have never touched. Ask: why did that simple test work? (The performer couldn’t prepare it in advance.)

Based on news reports of the “magic banana” in Malappuram, September 2026, with the assistance of AI tools, and reviewed by our editors. — CHARVAKA DESK