- Much like rice, wheat and maize (corn), potato crops are an important part the world’s diet.
- The word potato comes from the Spanish word patata.
- Potatoes contain a variety of vitamins and minerals.
- Based on 2010 statistics, China is the leading producer of potatoes.
- Despite health concerns, potato chips are one of the most common snack foods in the world with billions of packets being consumed every year.
- One of the main causes of the Great Famine in Ireland between 1845 and 1852 was a potato disease known as potato blight. The shortage of potatoes led to the death of around 1 million people who were dependent on them as a food source.
- Potatoes are sometimes called spuds.
- The potato is the most universally grown crop in the world.
- The Inca people of Peru were growing potatoes in the Andes Mountains as far back as 200 BC.
- The Incas used the potato to treat injuries. They also thought it made childbirth easier.
- Potatoes were introduced to Britain and Ireland in the late 1500s.
- Potatoes were often eaten aboard ships to prevent scurvy because they are loaded with vitamin C.
- The first “French fry” was allegedly first served in the United States by Thomas Jefferson at a presidential dinner.
- Potatoes were the first food to be grown in space. In 1996, potato plants were taken into space with the space shuttle Columbia.
- The world’s largest potato was grown in the UK in 2010. It tipped the scales at 3.76 kilograms (8 lb 4 oz) – the weight of a newborn baby!
- The highest voltage from a potato battery was 538.1 Volt DC achieved in Germany in July 2009.
- Potatoes are becoming more and more important in the developing world. That’s because they’re an easy crop to grow. They yield more nutritious food, more quickly and on less land than any other crop
- Potato blossoms used to be a big hit in royal fashion. Potatoes first became fashionable when Marie Antoinette paraded through the French countryside wearing potato blossoms in her hair
The Incas had many uses for potatoes other than dinner:
- Placed raw slices on broken bones to promote healing
- Carried them to prevent rheumatism
- Ate with other foods to prevent indigestion.
- Measured time: by correlating units of time by how long it took for potatoes to cook.
- Various folk remedies recommend using potatoes:
- Treat facial blemishes by washing you face daily with cool potato juice.
- Treat frostbite or sunburn by applying raw grated potato or potato juice to the affected area.
- Help a toothache by carrying a potato in your pocket.
- Ease a sore throat by putting a slice of baked potato in a stocking and tying it around your throat.
- Ease aches and pains by rubbing the affected area with the water potatoes have been boiled in
