Original photo by Laura adai/ Unsplash+
It’s a common misconception that potatoes hail from Ireland, or elsewhere in Europe, but they were actually first cultivated in the New World — specifically, South America’s Andean region. Archaeologists uncovered fossilized sweet potatoes in Peru’s Chilca Canyon dating back to around 8080 BCE, making them the oldest known remains of domesticated tubers. There’s also evidence of potatoes having grown along Peru’s coast some 4,000 years ago, as well as along the shores of Lake Titicaca (an area shared by modern-day Bolivia and Peru) roughly 2,500 years ago.
The earliest spuds were cultivated by ancient civilizations that inhabited the Andes, including the Aymara, who settled on the Titicaca Plateau no later than 1500 BCE. The Aymara managed to grow more than 200 potato varieties, despite extreme heights and adverse climatic conditions. Potatoes were also a popular crop among the Inca, who used them for pottery, medicine, and even to predict the weather.
Oops, incorrect!
It's a factAccording to the Monticello estate, Jefferson once returned from a trip to France with a recipe roughly translating to “deep-fried potatoes in small cuttings,” an early incarnation of the modern french fry. He also helped popularize other foods in the U.S., including ice cream.
Potatoes were only introduced to Europe in the 16th century, when they were brought back to the continent by Spanish conquistadors. According to the Irish Potato Federation, the spuds arrived in Ireland between 1586 and 1600 CE, though there’s no written evidence of their early cultivation there. Potatoes, which could be grown in cheap soil, quickly became a staple crop among poorer Irish communities. When the Irish Potato Famine struck in 1845, an estimated 1.5 million Irish fled to the United States to avoid hunger. This largely accounts for why many of us draw a connection between Ireland and potatoes, despite the spud’s South American origins.
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In Britain, fries are called "chips," while chips are called "______."
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In Britain, fries are called "chips," while chips are called "crisps."
Mr. Potato Head was the first toy advertised on TV.
On April 30, 1952, a television ad aired to promote the new Mr. Potato Head toy. This marked the first televised toy advertisement and also the first ad to speak directly to children rather than their parents. Mr. Potato Head was originally much different than its modern incarnation. The packaging contained 30 plastic accessories (facial features, hands, feet, etc.) that could be affixed to real potatoes instead of a plastic body.
That inaugural advertisement featured a cartoon mascot informing kids about all the fun they could have playing with Mr. Potato Head, and the campaign proved so successful that more than a million kits sold in the first year alone. But in the 1960s, new government safety regulations prohibited the sale of sharp accessories that could, for instance, be stuck into spuds as toys. In response, the Hasbro toy company pivoted and began selling a plastic potato body with premade holes and more kid-friendly accessories.
Bennett Kleinman is a New York City-based staff writer for Optimism Media, and previously contributed to television programs such as "Late Show With David Letterman" and "Impractical Jokers." Bennett is also a devoted New York Yankees and New Jersey Devils fan, and thinks plain seltzer is the best drink ever invented.
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