Potato popularity
Today the potato is the fourth
largest food crop worldwide,
after rice, wheat, and
corn. But in the 18th
century the potato,
a giant sort of root,
was unheard of as
a food source. It
was considered
weird and even
downright
frightening to
people.
Deep "roots"
The Inca Indians in Peru
were the first to cultivate
potatoes around 8,000 BC
to 5,000 B.C. In 1536 Spanish
Conquistadors conquered Peru,
discovered the potato there, and took it
back to Europe with them.
Sir Walter Raleigh introduced potatoes
to Ireland in 1589. It took nearly four
decades for the potato to spread
throughout Europe. Farmers in
Europe discovered that potatoes
were easier to grow and cultivate than
other crops, such as wheat and oats.
Even better, potatoes contained most of
the vitamins needed for survival, and a crop
of potatoes could feed nearly 10 people for
each acre of land. Potatoes were introduced
to the United States beginning about 1600,
but they were not grown much until the
early 1700s.
Potato beauty
When potato plants bloom, they send up
five-petal flowers that look like stars. Marie
Antoinette liked the blossoms so much that
she put them in her hair. Her husband, Louis
XVI, put a potato flower in
his buttonhole, which
started a trend for
a while among the
French aristocrats.
At the time (in the
late 1700s), it was
also an attempt
to persuade French
farmers to plant potatoes
and French diners to eat this
strange new root plant that was just being
introduced.
Mr. Potato Head
In 2008 a Lebanese farmer dug up a
potato that weighed nearly 25 pounds. It
was bigger than his head!
Did you know?
The state of Idaho is the largest producer
FACTS ABOUT POTATOES!
Spud-tacular
What's a
potato's favorite
TV program?
Starch
Trek
Who is the
most powerful
potato?
Darth
Tater
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6 • Of f icialKidsMag.com • MARCH 2020
