Durians Are So Smelly They Are Banned On Futuristic Trains In Mars, As Seen In Sci-Fi Series ‘The Expanse’

To some, the smell of durian is a beautiful thing; pleasurably pungent with the ability to make the driest of mouths water.

Others would rather swim in a sewage plant than get even the faintest whiff of what many call the “fartiest fruit” because it kills every cell inside their body.

One thing’s for certain though, it has an incredibly strong smell.

That’s why it’s banned on trains; people would be drowning in the saliva of durian lovers and the puke of haters otherwise.

Maybe someday in the future, when humans have colonised Mars and made further advances in science and technology, bringing our favourite thorny fruit onboard trains will no longer be a crime.

Or maybe not.

The Expanse

If you’re a fan of shirking all your responsibilities and binging on shows instead, you might be familiar with the space sci-fi TV series ‘The Expanse’ on Amazon Prime Video.

But for those who’ve never heard of the show before, here’s what it’s about.

Set 200 years into the future, the show follows a missing young woman who brings a hardened detective and a rogue ship’s captain together in a race across the solar system to expose the greatest conspiracy in human history.

Thanks, IMDb. 

Now, just like Elon Musk promised, humans have colonised Mars in this series, along with most of the planets in the solar system.

And if you’re a fan of the show and live in Southeast Asia, you might have spotted a familiar sign on one of the futuristic trains on the newly-colonised planet.

No durians, please

In the first episode of Season 4, Bobbie Draper, a nationalistic Martian, is travelling on a train in Mars.

As the train approaches Innis Shallows Station, Bobbie turns around, revealing 1 of 2 prohibition signs behind her.

The first says “no eating and drinking” and warns of a 500 fine, presumably in Martian currency.

Then Bobbie moves to her right, revealing the second prohibition sign on the train.

Reader: Is that a… durian?

You are correct.

Reader: On Mars?

Yes.

Reader: But how do they even grow them? Where do they even get them from? And how do Martian durians taste?

As for the first question, I’m guessing Americans finally managed to overcome their exaggerated aversion to durians and started planting durian trees on Mars.

And I’m sure that with all their technological advances they’ve managed to engineer the tastiest durians known to man.

Is it really a durian though

But you might think we’re all seeing what we want to see here. Why would an American show even have a no-durian sign in their show? It’s probably just some strange Martian weapon that resembles durian, right?

Director confirmed it

Breck Eisner, the director of the episode, later confirmed on Twitter that the object on the sign was indeed a durian.

So, there you have it. Even 200 years into the future, we still haven’t figured out how to create odourless durians.

Though I personally think that’s a good thing.