Coconuts!

I thought I’d take a moment to talk about coconuts. I dragged a plastic chair out to the front entrance today with the objective of taking pictures of all of the crazy vehicles that are on the roads. I put the chair under the big tree in the shade next to the coconut guy, Obgng.
Well, I ended up watching the coconut guy more than the traffic…I bought a coconut from him (40 cents) and he 'machete-ed' off the top so I could drink the juice. By the way do you know how much juice is in one of those things- A LOT. The first time I had one here I didn’t drink all of the juice and the guy rolled his eyes as he dumped it on the ground so he could open it for me for the meat. There’s actually a lot of good stuff in the juice. (see below)

While I was drinking my juice several cars pulled up and stopped for coconuts. One had 2 small kids in it and he asked that all of the green be cut off leaving just the brown (like we see in stores in the US) Some asked that the meat be cut out and put into little baggies to take home and some drank and ate it like me. After I drank the juice, I brought it back up to him and he cut it in half and made a little spoon scooper thing out of the outside for me to eat the meat.
When there weren’t customers Obgng straightened up the coconuts into perfectly symmetrical rows and columns and always made sure that the top row was primed and ready to go. My favorite sale was to the four ~10 year old boys who opted for the mother of all coconuts and then happily shared it!
And now…in keeping with the educational theme of this experience of mine-that IS why I’m over here…you may all take a quiz!

The Great Ghanaian Coconut Quiz

Directions: Choose the correct answer for each. Answers will be at bottom. Higher scores are expected for those living in areas dense with coconuts.

1. Coconuts are believed to have originated in:
A. New Guinea
B. Ghana
C. Samoa
D. Florida

2. 1 cup of coconut contains approx. 283 calories, of these how many are from fat?
A. 0
B. 58
C. 141
D. 224

3. It is estimated that the number of coconuts produced in a year is
A. 1 million
B. 5 billion
C. 20 billion
D. 1 zillion

4. Ten times as many people are killed by falling coconuts each year than by:
A. Sharks
B. Electrocution
C. Malaria
D. Crazy Accra Drivers

5. Which of the following is NOT one of the top 10 coconut producing countries
A. Brazil
B. Mexico
C. Ghana
D. Vietnam

6. Which of the following is NOT a known health benefit of eating coconuts?
A. Help you lose weight or maintain your good weight
B. Lower your Cholesterol
C. Increase sexual ‘prowess’ in males
D. Prevent wrinkles

7. Drinking the water-like substance in a coconut can most be compared to
A. drinking a Beer
B. drinking a Sprite
C. drinking a Gatorade
D. drinking a Pina Colada

8. Early on, coconuts were
A. Blue
B. Used as a form of currency
C. Used as weapons by fighting tribes
D. Used in juggling contests

9. In Bali women are forbidden from touching the coconut tree because:
A. The bark attracts spiders which are poisonous to women
B. Their touch may drain the fertility of the tree of its ability to produce coconuts
C. Their touch may make the woman infertile
D. A coconut might fall on their head

10. When a Thai baby is about 6 months old a Buddhist Priest
A. Lightly taps it on the head with a coconut while chanting
B. Feeds it three teaspoons of coconut meat
C. Rubs its skin with coconut juice
D. Can buy it from the parents for 100 coconuts

ANSWERS:
1. A
2. D
3. C (zillion isn’t even a number!)
4. A-over 150 deaths a year
5. C-Philippines is #1
6. C-sorry guys
7. C-its full of electrolytes (and sugar so Sprite is worth ½ pt)
8. B just like shells!
9. B
10. B
If you did not receive 60% or higher you must send me an e-mail and update me on YOUR life!