"Could that be Mom on a wet banana?" cried the voiceover guy in the advert. "We really hope not," us kids cried back…
This was kids' play - anytime an adult attempted to slide along the wet banana they just looked ridiculous and often ended in an injury in some shape or form. In case you haven't a clue what we're talking about (this could all sound rather dodgy, couldn't it?), let us explain exactly what a wet banana was.
Firstly, the only similarity between this and an actual banana was that the toy was yellow in colour and it featured a small banana-shaped sprinkler attachment. It was basically a yellow sheet if plastic - perfect for laying on the garden lawn and hosing with water then sliding along the sheet on your front. To make things even easier, the wet banana featured a hose pipe attachment so you could have a continual flow of water and excitement (no hose pipe bans in those days!). There was also a super wet banana - super because it was around twice as long at 30ft.
The wet banana was hours of fun back when summers were always ridiculously scorching. No school holiday went by without the wet banana being unrolled. It gave the kids a chance to nail their own sliding technique - headfirst for the adrenalin junkies, and bum down for the more cautious amongst us.
Of course, with a name like wet banana, the toy managed to attract a fair amount of innuendo (us kids were obviously oblivious to all that). In the end, the toy was rebranded the Slip 'n' Slide.
Do You Remember Wet Banana?
Do You Remember Wet Banana?