Binky Goes Nuts

Summary
When Binky discovers of being allergic to peanuts, he has so many questions: Will he be forced to live without Chinese food? Will he ever again be able to eat with his friends? And most importantly, will his Mom ever calm down? Binky learns that the best way not to go nuts is to be well informed, and to understand his allergy.

Plot
At the beginning of the episode, Muffy is suntanning on the grass next to the school, talking about getting stuff for the summer. Then the scene goes to Binky and Molly, who are blowing out spitballs again; then a mysterious butterfly swoops down on Binky's arm. Shortly after, Molly sees it and wants to hit it but Binky stops her and explains that it's one thing to hit kids with spitballs. He then adds that butterflies are “harmless, beautiful creatures that—”, but stops at seeing red bumps on his arm. Molly suggests going to the nurse to check it out. Brain and Buster hear this, and Buster remarks that he didn't know butterflies could bite; Brain disagrees, and tells him that butterflies cannot bite.

Binky Goes Nuts

While at the hospital, Dr. Kingsbury explains to Binky that the butterfly didn't cause the allergic reaction and adds that Binky's also not allergic to pollen or pet dander, much to Binky's relief. However, Dr. Kingsbury notes that Binky's blood test revealed that he's allergic to peanuts, which worries Mrs. Barnes. Binky doesn't think it's a big deal, pointing out to his mom that he doesn't even like peanuts. But both Mrs. Barnes and Dr. Kingsbury explain that food allergies can be quite serious and that if Binky were to ever ingest something that had peanuts or peanut products, he could suffer from anaphylaxis. When it becomes apparent that Binky doesn't know what anaphylaxis is, his mom and Dr. Kingsbury explain that it's an acute reaction that some people suffer from if they're allergic to certain types of foods, and that it's much more dangerous than something as simple as a rash, as anaphylaxis can cause difficulty in swallowing or even breathing. Before Binky and his mom leave, the doctor gives them some special brochures with information on peanut allergies.

Later, while grocery shopping, Mrs. Barnes explains to Binky that because of his newfound allergy, they have to be extremely careful about the food they buy and eat, as there are lots of foods that can have peanuts or peanut products in them (such as a can of chili that Mrs. Barnes was looking at being revealed to have peanut oil as one of its ingredients). At dinner, Binky's mom is revealed to have made chicken cutlets—Binky's surprised by this and points out to his parents that they've always gotten Chinese food on Friday nights. Mrs. Barnes explains that a lot of Chinese food is made with various types of peanut products, and both she and Binky's dad note that it's better to be safe than sorry. Binky's kind of upset about this, but eats the cutlet anyway (which he admits is very good). However, Binky gets mad when his parents suggest he sit at a different table from his friends in the case they have food with peanuts or peanut products in them.

That night, Binky has a dream that all the school lunch somehow has peanuts in it, for ridiculous reasons (including milk from a cow named Peanut). The dream continues, with Mrs. MacGrady putting him at a table just for kids with allergies and showing him the other kids there: Adam, who has to wear a space suit because of his allergy to Formica, and Ron and Don, who're allergic to their hands and utensils, so they have to eat from a wooden trough. She then serves Binky some Brussels sprouts, saying he will be eating them every day for the rest of his life. Binky, who doesn't like Brussels sprouts, screams “No!”, and the dream ends. The next day, Binky's mom gives him his very own cell phone in case of emergencies.

While at a candy store, Binky's trying to make up his mind about what to buy while assuring his mom (over the phone) that he'll make sure not to get anything that has peanuts in it. Jenna overhears Binky talking to his mom and suggests that he buy Gummi Slugs, which don't have any peanuts or peanut products. Binky says that he doesn't like Gummi Slugs and then questions how Jenna could've known about his peanut allergy. Jenna explains that Binky's parents e-mailed the school about it, which Binky finds embarrassing. Jenna assures him that it's okay, explaining that her family had done the same thing when Jenna was discovered to be allergic to dairy. Binky feels sorry for Jenna upon hearing this, pointing out that there's dairy in pretty much everything, which Jenna notes is true. However, Jenna explains that she got used to it after a while, especially when she and her family became more informed of the allergy and were able to find dairy-alternatives that Jenna could eat, such as a type of ice cream made from rice milk. Jenna offers to help Binky become more informed on his peanut allergy by taking him to the library, which Binky agrees to after buying a bag of cashews.

While at the library, Binky and Jenna are looking at some books when he feels his throat tickle and he and Jenna notice a weird rash on his arm, Binky calls his mom, who takes him to the hospital to have a special shot. After Binky's feeling better, he's confused as to why that happened, as he's not even allergic to cashews. Mrs. Barnes notes that the cashews he ate were probably produced in a plant that also handles peanut products.

That night, Binky has a dream that he is rescued from Dr Legume by Bionic Bunny, who tells him he knows how he feels because he's allergic to salt. The next morning, Binky (finally taking his allergy more seriously) goes through all the food to check which ones have peanut products in them and which don't. While this is happening, Mrs. Barnes eventually comes into the kitchen and sees what her son is doing. Binky explains to his mom that he found some food with peanuts/peanut products in them that they missed, and Mrs. Barnes is happy that her son's finally putting more effort into understanding his allergy and taking it more seriously.

While at school, Binky's sitting with his friends, who are now informed of Binky's allergy to peanuts. They're very understanding of it and are doing everything they can to help him, with Molly even acting as a kind of bouncer to kids who come up to their table to make sure that they don't have any food with peanuts or peanut products in them. Binky's mom calls him on the phone to make sure he's okay and it turns out that she's actually standing outside the school cafeteria. When she sees Binky eating a sandwich, she gets worried that it has peanut butter in it, but Binky reminds that it's a cream cheese-and-jelly sandwich that she herself made for him. This calms down Mrs. Barnes and she and her son share a laugh after he tells her how good the sandwich is.

Later, on a Friday, Binky takes his parents to Chinese restaurant called the Golden Panda. Binky explains to his parents that the place specializes in peanut/nut-free Chinese food, so people like him can still enjoy Chinese food without having to worry about their allergies. Binky asks his parents if they can eat here on Friday nights, which they agree to, much to their son's delight.

Major

 * Binky Barnes
 * Mrs. Barnes

Minor

 * Jenna Morgan
 * Molly MacDonald
 * Buster Baxter
 * The Brain
 * Muffy Crosswire
 * Dr. Kingsbury
 * Leah MacGrady
 * Bionic Bunny
 * Dr. Legume
 * Anna Phylaxis
 * Mr. Barnes(doesn't speak)

Cameo

 * Unknown Male Adult Rabbit (Number 3)
 * Fern Walters
 * Sue Ellen Armstrong
 * Francine Frensky
 * Adam
 * Dave
 * Ron and Don
 * George Lundgren
 * 3rd Grade Female Aardvark
 * 3rd Grade Male Rat
 * Lisa
 * Kyle
 * Rattles
 * Slink
 * Mary
 * Otis
 * Brian
 * Alex
 * Arthur Read
 * Maria Pappas
 * 3rd Grade Male Rabbit (Number 2)
 * 3rd Grade Male Monkey
 * Luke
 * 3rd Grade Male Dog
 * Kenny
 * Steve
 * 3rd Grade Male Cat
 * 3rd Grade Male Dog (Number 3)
 * 3rd Grade Male Rabbit
 * 3rd Grade Female Cat (Number 2)

Mentioned

 * Mrs. Morgan

Trivia

 * Jenna doesn't speak again until "Messy Dress Mess."
 * In this episode, Jenna is revealed to have a dairy allergy while Binky, in addition to being allergic to peanuts (which he already disliked), also dislikes brussels sprouts and Gummi Slugs.
 * In this episode, Binky says that he is almost ten years old.
 * This is one of the episodes that focuses on health, with the others being "Arthur's Chicken Pox," "Buster's Breathless," "Arthur's Knee," "Sick as a Dog," "Germophobia," and "Operation: D.W.!"
 * Arthur appears but doesn't have any speaking role in this episode.
 * In 2015, the episode was made available freely on the official Arthur website as part of the allergy section of a feature titled Arthur Family Health. The episode can be watched here. It is also available on the PBS KIDS Video app and website. The show's "And Now a Word from Us Kids" segment is also included as a separate video clip.
 * Moral: Although having an allergy is serious, don't make a fuss about it for your own personal benefit.

Cultural References

 * Great spangled fritillary (Speyeria cybele) is a real species.
 * Anaphylaxis is a medical term for a severe allergic reaction, in which the body's immune system overreacts to a normally harmless substance.
 * Milk allergy means that the immune system overreacts to proteins found in milk. It is different from lactose intolerance, where the body simply loses the ability to digest milk sugar.
 * The "dancing peanut in a bowler hat" Mrs. MacGrady mentions is probably a reference to, the mascot of . Dr. Legume resembles him as well.
 * Dr. Legume is named after legumes (also called Fabaceae), a biological family of plants which includes peanuts, peas and beans.
 * Lord Bovina is named for for the biological family Bovidae, subfamily Bovinae, which includes cattle.
 * Sodium chloride is the chemical name for table salt.

Errors

 * In "Francine's Bad Hair Day," Binky seems to be allergic to flowers. This isn't discussed in this episode, and the doctor even says Binky's not allergic to pollen.
 * In this episode, Binky doesn't like peanuts or peanut products regardless of his allergy. In "Waiting to Go" (taking place before Binky developed the allergy), Binky eats peanut butter crackers without complaint.
 * Jenna is allergic to milk in this episode, she was drinking it before in The Good Sport.