this post was submitted on 20 Jun 2026
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For 15 years, Steve Braithwaite has driven a 23-foot banana across the country and, on Wednesday, just like hundreds of times before, he was pulled over…

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[–] Deebster@infosec.pub 1 points 4 hours ago

I love the indignant tone of the article.

Also it's quite funny how he's doing a one-man Top Gear, first building and driving a novelty car, then going on a "grand tour"with it.

[–] brbposting@sh.itjust.works 31 points 14 hours ago* (last edited 14 hours ago) (1 children)
[–] lyrial@anarchist.nexus 7 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

passengers wave

It's all the same guy.

[–] whyNotSquirrel@sh.itjust.works 17 points 10 hours ago

made me think of this

[–] atzanteol@sh.itjust.works 66 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

"'The reason I pulled you over, that light back there, you peeled out.'"

Nothing like abusing your authority just to make a shitty dad joke.

[–] ProfessorScience@lemmy.world 26 points 16 hours ago (1 children)
[–] LincolnsDogFido@lemmy.zip 1 points 11 hours ago

In this case he hadn't

[–] otterpop@lemmy.world 42 points 15 hours ago* (last edited 14 hours ago) (3 children)

I like his slogan: "The world needs more whimsy". You see it even here in this thread where half the comments can't focus on how amazing and hilarious the banana car is and instead make it about their disdain for police.

It would be awesome if more people did this and the world looked more like Richard Scarry's books!

[–] hakase@lemmy.zip 43 points 15 hours ago (1 children)

There's always room for more disdain for police!

[–] schipelblorp@sh.itjust.works 15 points 15 hours ago (2 children)

And disdain for colonial plantations! Let's leave no fun unspoiled!

[–] AmidFuror@fedia.io 7 points 15 hours ago (1 children)

Bananas themselves use cHeMiCaLs to grow. Some of those chemicals have been found in kids' snacks.

[–] tomiant@piefed.social 2 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

I'm hearing bananas are evil and gay. Except for the chemicals, those are cool.

[–] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 2 points 7 hours ago

i mean what kind of evil? i'm always down for a little evil.

gay chemicals? we need those siloed off for my personal use. but evil needs to be shared for public consumption

[–] PattyMcB@lemmy.world 2 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

And disdain for plantains!

[–] LincolnsDogFido@lemmy.zip 4 points 11 hours ago

You mean shitty bananas?

[–] LincolnsDogFido@lemmy.zip 5 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

The reason it is whimsical and fun is because it's unique. I'm sure its also a huge pain in the ass when it comes to just owning it. Parking. Painting, Maintenance, etc. Then there's safety to consider when it comes to things like accidents. I'm sure most of these custom cars are death traps for the occupants in any situation other than just fender benders.

Do I love seeing them on the road, yes. Would I drive one myself or enjoy living in a world full of them? No.

[–] BagOfHeavyStones@piefed.social 2 points 11 hours ago

Bender benders.

[–] QuandaleDingle@lemmy.world 4 points 11 hours ago

Well said. Someone needs to come out with a Burger car now. XD

[–] Bashnagdul@lemmy.world 44 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

Richard scarry feels validated.

[–] nilloc@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

Somehow the builder didn’t even mention it. But there almost no way he hadn’t seen that right? I think that book came out in the late 1960s.

I’ve wanted a Steyr Puch Haflinger since I was about 5 from that book. Pretty rare in the US though.

[–] tomiant@piefed.social 3 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

That looks like it could kill two families of five in a single sunday trip to the beach.

[–] nilloc@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 1 hour ago

It’s tiny and only goes 50mph max (maybe, and that’s pushing it). it’s more like an all terrain golf cart than even a UTV.

It’s smaller than an old OG jeep.

[–] laranis@lemmy.zip 15 points 13 hours ago* (last edited 13 hours ago) (1 children)

I appreciate the puns in this thread but on a serious note most states have a process to inspect and approve hobby cars for road-worthiness. That's the one question not answered in the article: is the vehicle actually legal to be driving on the road?

[–] CultLeader4Hire@lemmy.world 11 points 13 hours ago* (last edited 13 hours ago) (1 children)

Road worthiness is more about having appropriate lights, horn, seatbelts and mirrors. Engine efficiency is a big part of being road legal so as long as he didn’t alter or remove emissions equipment that will be fine. Depending on what state he lives in he might need a safety inspection but that’s definitely not even close to universal. Lastly he’d need the right paperwork like a title, registration as a hobby car, liability insurance and get the correct license plates.

If you build your own car your safety as a driver or passenger is generally not the concern of the government just that you follow the rules and make sure other drivers can see you and you can see them. Americans have completely free travel between states so there’d be no way to prevent him from traveling around and it likely would be very illegal to try to stop him if he did meet all the requirements listed.

[–] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 1 points 7 hours ago

yeah, the expensive part is the dmv safety inspection and the "you built this yourself?" insurance (from what i've gathered talking with the kit car community in california). it's not actually hard to pass or get, you just have to pay a lot for the process.

[–] webkitten@piefed.social 15 points 14 hours ago

There's always money in the banana car

[–] BigBananaDealer@lemmy.world 5 points 11 hours ago

i remember making this deal

[–] betterdeadthanreddit@lemmy.world 25 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

It's not the sort of thing I'd use to split town but I can see the appeal.

[–] ArcaneSlime@lemmy.dbzer0.com 8 points 14 hours ago

He's calling the adventure "The World Needs More Whimsy Grand Tour."

Fuck yeah, I like him.

[–] CrypticCoffee@lemmy.ml 27 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

They probably pulled him over as he made them feel very small.

[–] WhoIzDisIz@lemmy.today 8 points 18 hours ago

From that perspective, imagine just how much he's overcompensating...

[–] melsaskca@lemmy.ca 13 points 16 hours ago

"We've stopped him often enough in the past but he's pretty slippery.", said Officer Plantain. /s

[–] A_norny_mousse@piefed.zip 20 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

enough roadside conversations to fill a produce aisle

Nice

[–] tomiant@piefed.social 3 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

I don't get it. They sell roadside banter in produce aisles?

[–] jdnewmil@lemmy.ca 2 points 10 hours ago

... or produce roadside banter in sell aisles?

[–] postmateDumbass@lemmy.world 17 points 19 hours ago* (last edited 19 hours ago) (1 children)

Imagine how many times if it was a plantain.

[–] WhoIzDisIz@lemmy.today 4 points 18 hours ago

I was thinking of the eggplant emoji.

[–] cattywampus@lemmy.world 11 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

Is that a banana in your garage or are you just happy to see me?

[–] Infrapink@thebrainbin.org 5 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

I have a banana in my garage because I'm happy to see you.

[–] cattywampus@lemmy.world 1 points 12 hours ago

I also have a banana in my garage but it's only for OP's mom.

[–] Sir_Premiumhengst@lemmy.world 7 points 17 hours ago

A car with a peal

[–] thenewred@lemmy.world 6 points 17 hours ago

This could be a Ricky Gervais show. Guy drives a banana car, but is completely jaded and over it.

[–] WhoIzDisIz@lemmy.today 7 points 18 hours ago

This guy found the idea of being the big banana a bit too a-peeling.

[–] quick_snail@feddit.nl -3 points 15 hours ago

Why does this man have too much money to burn?