Potato Fun Facts
1.
Potatoes originated in the Andes mountains of southern Peru and have
been cultivated for at least 7000 years.
2. The potato grows in over 180 countries from sea level to 14,000 feet
above it.
3. The potato is now a staple food for two-thirds of the World‘s population.
4. The Irish famine of 1846 was caused when a fungal disease attacked
their staple potato crops two years in a row.
5. An acre of land planted with potatoes produces four times as much food
as the same plot planted with corn and is much easier to harvest and
prepare, which is why The United Nations praised the potato as 'a
hidden treasure' and named 2008 as International Year of the Potato.
6. Potatoes are pollinated by certain types of bee that collect pollen by
buzzing the flower and shaking it out of the pores at the end of the
anthers.
7. The terraces where ancient peoples of the Andes grew potatoes are
often spectacular and built frequently with dressed stone by skilled
masons.
8. In France, potatoes first became popular when Marie Antoinette paraded
wearing a crown of potato blossoms.
9. 'French fried potatoes' were introduced to America when Thomas
Jefferson served them at a dinner in the White House.
10. The largest potato ever recorded was 7 pounds 13 ounces, about the
same weight as a new born baby. It was grown in 1994 by K. Sloan from
the Isle of Man.
11. Boiled potatoes have the second-highest concentration of folic acid
after bread. Baked in its skin, an average sized spud contains over 30%
of the Recommended Daily Allowance.
12. During World War II, government information leaflets advised Britons to
eat at least one pound of potatoes daily to provide vitamin C to 'prevent
against fatigue and help fight infection‘.
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Potato Fun Facts
13. Some people believe you can treat frost-bite or sunburn by applying raw
grated potato or potato juice to the affected area.
14. The first account of the potato was written by Francisco Lopez de
Gomara in 1552 when they became standard issue to sailors on Spanish
ships as the sailors who ate them did not suffer scurvy.
15. In October 1995, the potato became the first vegetable to be grown in
space. NASA and the University of Wisconsin, Madison, created the
technology with the goal of feeding astronauts on long space voyages,
and eventually, feeding future space colonies.
16. The first permanent potato patches in North America were established
around 1719, most likely near Londonderry in New Hampshire.
17. The 2009/10 World Catalogue of Potato Varieties lists over 4,500
varieties from more than 100 countries. In addition, CIP (International
Potato Center, Lima, Peru) maintains 3527 cultivars native to Latin
America alone.
18. At one time it was believed that potato crops were ruined by evil spirits
(rather than common pathogens such as late blight).
19. A field of potatoes creates more energy per acre per day than a field of
any other crop.
20. In Quechua, the language of the Incas, the name for the potato was
'Papa‘, a name spread by the Spaniards.
21. After the wreck of the Spanish Armada in 1588, Irish coastal villagers
rescued potatoes and planted them.
22. Potatoes became the main part of the diet of the Incas in Peru and
Bolivia.
23. The potato grows in a wider range of climatic zones than any other
staple food.
24. During the Alaskan Klondike gold rush, (1897-1898) potatoes were
practically worth their weight in gold. Potatoes were so valued for their
vitamin C content that miners traded gold for them.
25. The Incas used to place raw slices of potato on broken bones to
promote healing.
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Potato Fun Facts
26. 'The Potato Eaters' is Van Gogh's first ambitious painting, in which he
synthesizes his ideas about art and society: he conceived it as a
painting not only of peasants, but for peasants.
27. The man who invented the potato chip was a New Englander, George
Crum in 1853. It was his variation on the French- fried potato.
28. Belarus boasts the world's biggest consumption of potatoes 398
pounds per capita; more than three times the level in the U.S.
29. If you must peel potatoes take off the thinnest layer just before cooking.
If you leave them exposed to the air or standing in water you risk losing
the valuable nutrients.
30. The record for potato peeling is held by 5 women, who in 1992 peeled
1064 pounds of potatoes in 45 minutes using only kitchen knives.
31. The 70's rockers Jethro Tull derived their name from an agriculturalist
and potato tool inventor of the same name who lived during the 1700's.
32. Invented by George Lerner as a way of making dolls for his sisters from
his mum's potatoes, Mr. Potato Head was originally produced as a
giveaway with a US breakfast cereal. When it was first sold to the public
in 1952, it became the first toy to be sold through national television
advertising. Originally produced as a set of plastic features to be stuck
into a real potato, a plastic body was added to the kit in 1964. It has
remained popular since its heyday, but received an enormous boost
when it was featured in the 1995 hit movie Toy Story.
33. The first potatoes brought to Europe in the 16th century were accused
of being a cause of madness, leprosy and worse.
34. In the early 1950s, the J.R. Simplot Company developed the frozen
French fry, a product that was perfectly suited for the quick preparation
needed for the expanding fast food industry.
35. The first watercolor painting of a potato is dated 1588 and was sent by
Philippe de Sivry, Prefect of Mons in Belgium, to the herbalist Clusius in
Vienna in 1589.
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Potato Fun Facts
36. An easy-peasy alternative to traditional peeling is to boil the potatoes in
their skins and just push the skins off with your fingers. But wait until
they have cooled down a bit, or wear a clean pair of rubber gloves or
you may burn your fingers!
37. There is a recipe for potato wine. It includes among other things: 3
pounds potatoes, 4 pounds sugar, 4 ounces of chopped green or light
colored raisins... and 2 lemons.
38. Sir Francis Drake recorded that he obtained potatoes for the first time
by barter with native people of the island of Moche off the Chilean coast
in 1578.
39. In Zambia, they claim an African potato can cure almost anything. The
plant is only grown in Mkushi, in the north of the country. Traditional
healers use it for a range of illnesses.
40. The world's largest potato crisp was produced by the Pringle's
Company in Jackson, Tennessee in 1990. It measured 23” x 14.5",
roughly the size of a tabloid newspaper.
41. In Ireland amateur distillers mashed up potatoes then boiled and
distilled them to produce the sometimes lethal Poteen (pronounced
pocheen).
42. A particularly knobbly Andean variety of potato has a name which
means in Quechua 'Daughter-in-Law’s Bane'. It was used to test the
potato-peeling ability of marriage candidates.
43. At the bottom of the stairs in the Great Hall at Christ Church College,
Oxford, there are the words 'no Peel' burned into a door. This 'graffiti'
dates back to the 17th century when the college doctor prescribed
potato peels as a means of warding off the Black Death. It led to a
student riot!
44. Early forms of Vodka were derived from potato and many modern
varieties still are. It is one of the oldest distilled spirits and is currently
the world's most popular.
45. An old Irish saying declares: 'If beef‘s the king of meat, the potato's the
queen of the garden world.'
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Potato Fun Facts
46. Farmers in the Andes have known for a very long time that a thin sheet
of cloud over the stars at the summer solstice means that potato
planting should be delayed. Only recently have scientists realized that
they are accurately forecasting an El Nino event.
47. One medium potato supplies, on average, 30 mg vitamin C, nearly as
much as in a glass of tomato juice and 1.5 mg iron, which is around the
same amount as in an egg.
48. The first known printed illustration of a potato was by the Englishman,
John Gerard, in his volume entitled 'Herball' in 1597.
49. British wartime government scientists’ instructions on how to get the
maximum benefit from potatoes advised housewives to use potato
water for making soups and gravies, and re-use uneaten potatoes by
substituting them for flour when making pastry, pancakes and scones.
50. The Mashed Potato was a popular dance craze in the early sixties. It was
danced to songs such as 'Mashed Potato' by Nat Hendrik and the Swans
and most famously Dee Dee Sharp's 'Mashed Potato Time', the dance's
moves vaguely resemble those of 'The Twist‘, made famous by Sharp's
fellow Philadelphian, Chubby Checker.
51. Some South American Indians measured time using the time it took to
cook potatoes to various consistencies.
52. Whether they are for mashing, roasting, baking or boiling; keep the
skins on, it takes less time, and delivers more flavor as well as the
health benefits of dietary fiber and even more vitamins and minerals.
53. By the end of the 18th Century Irish peasants were eating ten potatoes a
day and represented more than three quarters of their diet.
54. Sir Walter Raleigh introduced potatoes to Ireland in 1589 cultivating
40,000 acres of land near Cork which was given to him for the purpose
by Queen Elizabeth I, eight years earlier.
55. Were potatoes the first biofuel? During the Second World War petrol
starved German forces developed a potato based alcohol to fuel aircraft
and military vehicles.
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Potato Fun Facts
56. To counter the potato's poor reputation in 18th century France, Antoine
Augustine Parmentier, a chemist and potato enthusiast, created a
number of delicate recipes that found their way to King Louis XVI‘s
Court.
57. The Peruvians worshipped a potato Goddess who was depicted holding
a potato plant in each hand.
58. The Prussian king Frederick the Great, fearful of a famine in his
kingdom, ordered his subjects to grow potatoes and threatened to cut
off the noses and ears of those who refused. Interestingly, he also
admired the flower of the potato plant so much he had the vegetable
planted in his pleasure gardens in Berlin.
59. The first deliberate crossing of potato varieties using artificial
pollination was by Knight in England in 1807.
60. Winnie the Pooh creator A.A. Milne once said: 'If a fellow really likes
potatoes, he must be a pretty decent sort of fellow'.
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