In a small Indiana town, a sight that began as a passing joke has settled into something the community holds in common: a boy in a banana suit, pedaling through the streets of Linton, whom neighbors have come to greet with honks, waves and affection. He is a middle schooler who once dreamed of being a superhero and never imagined the role would be a banana, yet the lesson he offers is an old one, that a small and playful gesture can draw strangers into a shared smile. Here, where a single yellow blur can make an entire street turn to look, the story reads as a reminder of how little it can tak
"Banana Man" Speaks for the First Time, and a Small Indiana Town Embraces His Legend
Just boom, like a yellow streak goes by.
Mark
Why does a boy in a banana suit deserve a full story?
Mimi
Because of what happened around him. People dressed up as him for Halloween, a girls cross country team ran in his honor, and there are T-shirts. That's a town responding.
Mark
And he never spoke until now?
Mimi
By all accounts he'd never said a word publicly. CBS disguised his voice for the interview to protect his identity.
Luke
Worth noting that "by all accounts" is doing work there. It means reports from people around town, not a verified record.
Mark
Fair. What did he say about why he started?
Mimi
His mom bought the costume at Goodwill, he rode his bike as a joke, saw it made people smile, and kept going. He also said he'd dreamed of being a superhero, just not as a banana.
Luke
That origin comes from him alone. The source doesn't say anyone else confirmed it.
Mark
What about the claim that he brought the town together?
Luke
That's the report's conclusion, backed by anecdotes: honking, waving, shirts, the run. There's no survey or count of fans, so I'd treat it as a vivid picture, not a measurement.
Mimi
The autographed cards are a nice detail, though. They're described as a collector's item in Linton.
Mark
And what comes next?
Mimi
He says he'll keep doing the same thing.
O Pulso
- A masked boy in a banana costume keeps appearing on bike rides through Linton, Indiana, and videos of him spread faster than anyone could track them.
- Neighbors catch only a yellow blur before the whole street is naming him, and the mystery over who he is grows louder with every sighting.
- CBS News works to uncover his identity while protecting it, and the boy finally speaks through a voice disguised on air.
- Residents answer with Halloween costumes, a girls cross country run in his honor, and T-shirts, while he hands out autographed cards that have become collector's items.
- The boy says he will keep riding, and the town appears set to keep greeting the yellow streak as it rolls past.
In a small Indiana town, a sight that began as a passing joke has settled into something the community holds in common: a boy in a banana suit, pedaling through the streets of Linton, whom neighbors have come to greet with honks, waves and affection. He is a middle schooler who once dreamed of being a superhero and never imagined the role would be a banana, yet the lesson he offers is an old one, that a small and playful gesture can draw strangers into a shared smile. Here, where a single yellow blur can make an entire street turn to look, the story reads as a reminder of how little it can take for a town to feel like one.
In Linton, Indiana, the sighting usually arrives as a blur. A yellow streak crosses the street, and within moments everyone is saying the same name: Banana Man. Over the past few months, videos of a middle-school-aged boy pedaling around town in a banana suit have circulated on social media, and in all that time he never said a word in public. That silence only deepened the curiosity.
CBS News went to Linton to learn who he was and why he was doing it. The boy has now spoken for the first time, in an interview where his voice was disguised to protect his identity. The costume, he explained, started with his mom, who bought it at Goodwill. He put it on and rode his bike as a joke, then noticed how many people smiled when they saw him. Making people smile is what he likes most. As a younger child he had dreamed of being a superhero, "but I didn't expect to be a banana."
The town has embraced him fully. Residents dressed as Banana Man for Halloween, a girls cross country team ran in his honor, and fans wear his shirts. Drivers honk and wave as he passes. He has returned the warmth with autographed cards that have become prized in Linton. Asked how it feels, he says good, and proud. He plans to keep riding, so the yellow streak will likely keep crossing Linton for a while.
In Linton, Indiana, the sighting usually comes as a blur. One resident describes it as a yellow streak going by, and then everybody on the street is saying the same thing: that's the Banana Man. Another resident put the picture more plainly, with little bitty legs and tights on.
Banana Man started turning up around town a few months ago. Videos soon began circulating on social media that appeared to show a boy, about middle school age, biking all over Linton in a banana suit. He had a second trademark that made him harder to pin down: by all accounts, he never spoke a word in public.
CBS News went to Linton to find out who he was and why he was doing it, and the reporting was not easy. The boy has now spoken for the first time, in an interview in which CBS News disguised his voice to protect his identity.
The costume, he explained, began with his mom, who bought a banana outfit at Goodwill. He put it on and rode his bike as a joke. Then he noticed that it made a lot of people smile, and he liked that. Making people smile, he said, is the part he likes.
There was an earlier ambition behind it. When he was younger, he told the interviewer, he dreamed of being a superhero. "But I didn't expect to be a banana," he said.
As a banana, though, the appeal has been considerable. Linton residents have thoroughly embraced the legend. Many dressed up as him for Halloween. A local girls cross country team did a run in his honor, and some people around town are now wearing Banana Man T-shirts. When he rides past, one resident said, people honk and yell and wave.
He has returned the affection. Banana Man hands out autographed cards to his fans, and they have become quite the collector's item in Linton.
What began as a joke, in CBS News's telling, has made a serious difference: the town has been brought together around a kid on a bike in a yellow suit. Asked how it feels, he said it feels good and that he feels proud. His plan, he said, is to keep doing exactly what he has been doing, so expect the yellow streak to keep rolling through Linton.
Citações Notáveis
I saw that it made a lot of people smile, and I like making people smile.— Banana Man, in an interview with CBS News
I didn't expect to be a banana.— Banana Man, on his childhood dream of being a superhero
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