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COWS4YOU · 09-02-2009, 12:26 AM

Welcome to National Potato Month! According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service, potatoes are the most popular veggie in America. Although, a great many of our processed potatoes end up as french fries.

Here are some cool facts about potatoes:

*In 1995, potato plants were taken into space with the space shuttle Columbia. This marked the first time any food
was ever grown in space.

*The world’s largest potato weighed in at 18 pounds, 4 ounces according to the Guinness Book of World Records. That’s enough for 73 portions of medium fries at McDonalds.

*The “French fry” was allegedly served in the U.S. for the first time by Thomas Jefferson at a presidential dinner

*In 1770 a crop failure gave a war its name - "The Potato War" when a war between Frederick the Great and Maria Theresa forced soldiers to steal the enemy's potatoes as there was not much more food to eat. When the potatoes were finished, so did the war.

*A potato is about 80% water and 20% solid.

*The average American eats 140 pounds of potatoes per year. Germans eat more than 200 pounds per year.

How do you spell potato? Better not ask Dan Quayle, Ex Vice President Quayle still ranks as America’s favorite dumb politician because of what happened in Trenton on June 15, 1992. Some of you may remember that day when a 6th grader had to teach the Vice President of the US, that potato is not spelled with an ‘E’ on the end. According to his autobiography, the 6th grader knew how to spell potato, and he wrote it in a legible script on the blackboard when Quayle announced his word for the spelling bee.

Quayle looked at the blackboard, then at his contest card, and gently and quietly told the boy, "You’re close, but you left a little something off. The e on the end.

"So the boy, against his better judgment and trying to be polite, added an e’’ and won applause for it from those assembled in the classroom, including Mayor Doug Palmer, Quayle wrote.
The misspelling wasn’t mentioned until the end of the press conference afterward, when one reporter asked Quayle, "How do you spell potato?’’

"I gave him a puzzled look, and then the press started laughing. It wasn’t until that moment that I realized anything was wrong,’’ Quayle wrote.

It's Wednesday so new poll is up. Have a great time at school and if you are traveling this weekend, have a safe journey.