Friends, in the event you missed it – we had a little excitement around here this month – my first truly viral video!

So a couple years back I created a silly DIY-style April Fool’s Day video for Kin Community – it was a lot of fun to create and you can see the video in its entirety here:

On March 13, 2016 a Facebook Page called Foods Around posted a truncated clip from the video that, as of this posting, has more than 75.5 MILLION views!

As you might imagine, the video has raised a lot of questions – especially from those living in countries where April Fool’s Day is not observed. Befuddled viewers from as far afield as India, China and Indonesia have emailed me with a litany of questions: Should the plant be kept indoors or out? How often should it be watered? Should I be concerned if it hasn’t sprouted after two weeks? This has left me with the unenviable task of writing back with my sorry explanation – making me feel equal parts a jerk and evil genius.

Further muddying the waters, the popular website IFLscience posted an article in puckish solidarity, claiming the “baniwi” to be legitimate – going so far as to quote a non-existent horticulturist!

The views and the attention were all kind of amazing BUT what had me completely and UTTERLY THRILLED is that the epic hoax debunking website Snopes actually posted an article to officially call my bluff and decry the “baniwi” as 100% impossible.

I’m sorry to report that while certain plant propagation techniques are legitimate – the ability to grow a kiwi-banana hybrid is simply not possible.

Thankfully, my friends at National Geographic helped set the record straight with their article (fittingly posted on April Fool’s Day!)  It was all in good humor and I hope it made you look twice and then laugh!  And for the record, all of my other DIY video tutorials are 100% sincere and do-able.  Scout’s honor!  Thanks for sharing in the fun!