Berita Hari Ini: Why people used to rent pineapples


	March 24, 2026

Original photo by Zamurovic Brothers/ Shutterstock

Pineapples were once so valuable, people rented them for parties.

If you're planning to throw a party, you might need to rent extra tables or chairs, or perhaps even a tent or a tux. But in the 1700s, party hosts and guests looking to make a statement were in the rental market for an entirely different accessory — one that sent a very clear message to their guests.

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		Numbers Don't Lie

Number of pineapples produced by a plant during its lifespan

1-2

Rough height (in feet) of the world's largest pineapple-shaped building, in Bathurst, South Africa

Number of flowers produced by a pineapple plant on one stalk

200+

Year James Dole opened the first commercial pineapple farm in Hawaii

1900

Queen Elizabeth II received cases of pineapples as a wedding gift.

What kind of gift do you send a future queen in honor of her nuptials? In Queen Elizabeth II's case: pineapples. In 1947, the government of Queensland, Australia, marked the celebration with a wedding gift of 500 cases of canned pineapple. While today the gift might be considered unusual, it was warmly received in Britain just two years after World War II ended; at the time, Britain was still experiencing wartime rationing, which would persist for seven years after the war's end. With many goods still difficult to come by, Queensland sent a surplus of its pineapple harvest to Britain, where many citizens still rarely saw fresh fruit. The cans, which were decorated with commemorative labels, were given out to British families, along with donations from other countries, including 804 metric tons of food from Toronto, Canada, and more than 50,000 packages from the United States.

Today's edition of Interesting Facts was written by Nicole Garner Meeker and edited by Bess Lovejoy.