The way a self-checkout machine says the word bananas has amused the internet.
Self-checkout has become the norm in many grocery stores, and while the machines that allow shoppers to scan their items are usually efficient and convenient, they can have funny quirks.
On TikTok, Everett Toy posted footage from his trip to a Stop & Shop to highlight the machine’s way of speaking, which entertained him and his shopping companion.
The video—which has received 5 million views and more than 4,000 comments since Toy, under the handle @everett.toy, posted it on April 28—shows two men weighing their “organic bananas” and laughing at the way the machine says the words.
In the video’s comments section, social media users shared in their joy, with one user writing, “My sense of humor is so broken I’m crying laughing at this video.”
In text that appears in the video, Toy wrote, “Absolutely living for the way the Stop & Shop self checkout says ‘organic bananas.'”
“And yes I will pay more for organic just to hear her say it,” he added in the post’s caption.
Newsweek has contacted Toy for comment via Instagram. We could not verify the details of the case.
In the comments, TikTok users offered theories on why the robotic female voice pronounced bananas the way it did.
“It’s like she tilts her head down, looking over her glasses and smirks when she says bananas,” one commenter wrote.
“She said bananas while doing air quotes,” another added.
“I think the word organic and bananas were recorded separately hence the difference in voice sound and slightly off timing, she was probably just laughing about bananas,” one user said.
Other users discussed their own self-checkout experiences. One wrote, “The Kroger self checkout said ‘Sweet Patatahs’ in a southern accent one time.”
Julia Gomina/iStock / Getty Images Plus
Speaking to Newsweek, Stop & Shop said: “We are finding it b-a-n-a-n-a-s that this TikTok is getting so much traction! It’s not every day our self-checkout machines become a viral sensation, but we’re here for it.
“At Stop & Shop, we are all about ensuring our customers have the best experience while shopping in our stores, and we’re happy to see them finding a little added fun in the self-checkout aisle.”
According to Catalina, a marketing agency that analyzes shopping data, the number of self-checkout lanes has increased 10 percent in the past five years. In grocery chains, they make up 38 percent of the lanes.
The agency added that the data signaled a growing tendency toward do-it-yourself scanning systems, with some brands piloting self-checkout-only stores.
Elsewhere, TikTokers have shared their amusing grocery-store experiences.
In Tampa, Florida, a woman documented her husband’s bewilderment at the price of waffles on his first-ever trip to Costco.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.