Chemistry Hack #3: ripen green bananas quickly

If you picked up a bunch of green bananas and you don't want to wait a few days for them to ripen you can speed up the process using chemistry. Place them in a paper bag with an apple or ripe tomato then close the bag. The apple or tomato give off the chemical compound ethylene, which is a natural fruit ripening chemical. On the flip side if you don't want your bananas ripening too quickly, don't place them in a bowl with other ripe fruit.