Got $920,000? You Can Have Your Very Own Banana Museum

His initial attempt to sell his International Banana Club and Museum failed, but owner Ken Bannister believes the Altadena landmark is still ripe for bidders.

So much so that he’s actually raised the price from $900,000 to $920,000 on the eBay auction site. “And I’m going to raise the price $10,000 every week,” he said. “I’m just going with the bull market.”

In the first three weeks it was for sale, the museum drew two offers--of $900,000 and $900,100--the 61-year-old banana man said. But neither deal materialized.

Lest you think $920,000 is a bit high for a banana museum, Bannister points out that he’s offering not only 17,000 banana artifacts but his World Wide Web domain name (bananaclub.com), his trademark and his registered logo.

Included, also, are his concepts for three sure-fire television hits: a banana cartoon show, a banana sitcom and a banana quiz show. (I forgot to ask him if the title of the last would be “Who Wants to Be a Banana?”)

And he’ll also throw in the royalty rights for a line of toys, including a banana tub float.

“This will replace the duck in the tub--mark my words,” the banana man said.

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MORE FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Nancy Zeavin of suddenly prominent Altadena, one of several readers who noticed an ad for Chicken “Viola,” guessed it must be the origin of the phrase, “Music has charms to soothe a savage breast” (see accompanying).

Or leg or wing.

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$ATISFACTION: So the Rolling Stones were the top-grossing rock group in Orange County last year, bringing in $64.7 million during their February visit to the Pond.

Imagine . . . all that money.

Plus, they now qualify for discounts on the road from the American Assn. of Retired Persons (AARP).

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AIR CONDITIONING, THE OLD-FASHIONED WAY: The 75-degree-plus weather caught some Angelenos off-guard Tuesday, including a woman in a flannel shirt on the Red Line.

Her solution: Remove the heavy garment and ride topless.

No one rang the alarm, said a colleague who happened to be on her car. In fact, the exhibition elicited little reaction from the other passengers, who have evidently learned the rule of New York subways: Never make visual contact with a fellow rider.

I bet you can guess where the self-cooled passenger exited: Hollywood.

Steve Harvey can be reached at (800) LATIMES, Ext. 77083, by fax at (213) 237-4712, by mail at Metro, L.A. Times, Times Mirror Square, L.A. 90053 and by e-mail at steve.harvey@latimes.com.