I estimate my radiation dose for my day as ...

...is just not possible. One banana is about 0.01 mrem. According to the NRC's annual radiation dose calculator [nrc.gov], I get about 301.016 mrem per year. On a daily basis, that means 0.8247 mrem, or about 82.5 bananas per day. That makes for quite a large bunch (at least, by grocery store standards - Wikipedia says they grow in 3-20 tiers per cluster, with up to 20 fruits per tier).

Somehow, we've found a poll with worse numbering than the one that assumed most people were born within 20 miles of their current home. [slashdot.org]

At least it was possible for someone to live within 20 miles of home. Here, though, the only option that's possible to select is the last. That is, unless a "bunch" is defined as "all of the bananas found in a typical large grocery store."

The 'TSA': the level of radiation received from an airport body scanner. As in, you have the 'freedom' to opt to receive a TSA rub-down or a TSA of radiation on each and every flight.

The only potential problem with this unit is that nobody has any idea of its size.

I live in an area with lots of underground granite that emits radon. The background radiation here is estimated to be around 12 mSv/year. That's around 32 uSv/day, i.e., 320 bananas. More like a crate than a bunch, I'd say.

Bananas are radioactive—But they aren't a good way to explain radiation exposure. When you eat a banana, your body's level of Potassium-40 doesn't increase. You just get rid of some excess Potassium-40. The net dose of a banana is zero.

and

Many common artificial radioisotopes are categorically more dangerous than the type of radioisotope naturally in bananas, even if the equivalent dose (Sv) is reported as the same. Nuclear power accidents tends to release radioiodine, which is known to be especially dangerous to children because it concentrates in the thyroid gland. Other radioisotopes may accumulate in the lung. The dose from potassium in bananas is less harmful because it is distributed more evenly throughout the body, and does not accumulate.

i might loose some carma points for pointing this out on a /., though.

"I live in a stone, brick, or concrete building, you insensitive clod!"

According to the radiation dose chart, that gets you 70 uSv, equivalent to about 2 bananas.

http://xkcd.com/radiation/ [xkcd.com]

I estimate my daily dose of background radiation to the equivalent of well over 100 bananas.

I've been eating, on average, 3 bananas per day for most of my adult life. They are an excellent source of potassium, fructose, and fiber.

After a 100 mile bike ride, electrolytes are usually in short supply, so a banana replaces lost potassium quickly. Also, fructose repletes lost glycogen in the liver more quickly than glucose. The fiber ensures I crap regularly.

I find it really stupid that one of the most healthy foods on the planet is being demonized because a minuscule amount of the potassium in them is isotopic.

1 Million Bananas (and a hat).

This poll wrongly lumps all "radiation" together into the trivial effect that a banana has. The is a gross overgeneralization, and a severe distortion of the facts -- this is nearly as bad as people who claim that microwaves, radio waves and ultraviolet radiation are all also radiation, and therefor, since we use ultraviolet radiation to get vitamin D, a little radiation might actually be good for us.

This is very wrong. Not only are some kinds of radiation more hazardous than others (eg, alpha vs neutron radiation), but certain radioisotopes are more dangerous than others -- because certain parts of our bodies are more susceptible to cancer, and the worst kinds of radioisotopes congregate in those areas -- unlike, say, radioactive potassium from a banana.

I'm all for nuclear power, and I believe that it can be made safe, however I certainly do not believe PR lies and misinformation. Anyone who agrees with the banana metaphor is killing a kitten. This is faulty reasoning at its worst -- faulty reasoning that directly harms the reasoner and other people.

Day-oh Day-oh
Daylight come and me wanna go home (x2)

Work all night with uranium
Daylight come and me wanna go home
Set the fuel rods 'til morning sun
Daylight come and me wanna go home

Come, Mr. Manager, count up the megawatts
Daylight come and me wanna go home (x2)

It's 6 rem, 7 rem, 8 rem boom!
daylight come and me wanna go home (x2)

I average between 40 and 45 mSv per year. Considering that a banana is 0.1 microSv, that's a hell of a lot of banana equivalents.

That being said, I am a physician that works in a cardiac cath lab. Even with adequate (including eye) shielding, I expect to get early cataracts due to my exposure. I'm not complaining. I get paid enough to deal with it. :)

And if you're worried about the techs and nurses that work with me: None of them are *ever* closer to the active radiation source than me during a case, unless things hit the fan (ie: chest compressions), which occur less than once/year, and they all get less exposure than I do, as measured on our radiation badges.

I measure my radiation in units of mutant superheroes.

Japan is currently at 3 Fantastic Four, 8 Hulk

Courtesy of XKCD here is a handy chart of exposure levels:

http://blog.xkcd.com/2011/03/19/radiation-chart/

1 banana = 2x sleeping next to someone who would have known ?

I'm in a chemistry lab frequently, and deal with a guy whose primary research interest is ornanometallic complexes involving actinides, especially those of uranium (depleted, but still).

So probably "many" bananas.

I'm on the Ann Coulter plan.