How did bananas come to be? Who is the most useless member of society? What do language fads tell us about the history of human development? What would space aliens say about our well-kept lawns?

These short pieces and essays provide thought-provoking and entertaining social commentary from a point of view not usually seen-that is, Contrarian. Written for a small-town (Dryden, Ontario) newspaper and the author's blog between 2012 and 2023, Mel Fisher appeals to the "common sense of the common people," writing about everything from breakfast cereal to Darwin to global warming to God. Contrarian Commentary pokes fun at the foibles of modern life, questions mainstream media, and celebrates the profound strangeness of humanity on the blue-and-green planet we call home.