FIAMMA'S FUN FACTS FRIDAY

It's finally FRYday!  None of the other bloggers could say that!!  I've been rustling together all the facts about potato sack racing.  It's basically a race where you place your two feet in a sack (or pillowcase) and hop from the starting line to the finish line.  Whoever reaches the finish line first is the winner!

Potato sack races were an actual Olympic event in the 1904 Summer Olympics in St. Louis.  In the late 19th century, potato sack races were a common athletic event on college campuses.  College track teams trained intensely for races.  College-level potato sack racers in the late 1800s wore the sack tied securely up to their necks.  While most races hopped their way to the finish line, some athletes performed hurdles during their sack races.  Potato sack races were a common form of entertainment for English soldiers in the late 1700s.  Soldiers formed up races to pass the time while in camp during the Revolutionary War.  No couch potatoes back then!

Here's some fun facts about potatoes:

• At a White House dinner in 1802, President Thomas Jefferson was the first person to serve french fries in the U.S. (darn if we don’t see his name a lot on this blog!) 
• Potato chips are American’s favorite snack food - 1.2 billion pounds are devoured each year.  Potato chips were invented in Saratoga Springs in 1853 by Chef George Crum.
• 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, miners traded gold for potatoes.  In fact, there is even a potato called Yukon Gold.  These potatoes are slightly flat and oval in shape with light gold, thin skin and light yellow flesh.
• 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 average person in the U.S. eats 130 pounds of potatoes each year.
• Frozen potatoes, including french fries, are the number one prepared style of potatoes in the U.S.  Americans eat more than 16 pounds of French fries every year.  That’s over 2 million tons!
• Approximately one-third of all potatoes grown in the U.S. are grown in Idaho.  62% of all Idaho potatoes that are harvested are used to make frozen or instant potatoes. 
• New York consumes more potatoes than any other state, followed by Ohio, Florida, Pennsylvania, and Texas.  (Texas loves taters!)
• Pennsylvania potatoes are recognized worldwide as the best potato-chip potato.  In Waterford, Pennsylvania, glaciers from the last Ice Age left behind a layer of porous gravel, topped by rich, loamy soil.
• 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 McDonald’s!

Potato sacks or flour sacks were used to make clothing during the Depression (1930s).  When farmers brought home feed sacks, women used the sacks as material to sew clothing, dish towels, curtains, and quilts!  They ranged from plain white material to flowered, checked, and plaids.   

 

I was feeling so nostalgic, but it's time for me to hit the sack!  There's still a little time to watch a Potato Head Kids video, Small Potatoes, and a video by the Small Potatoes (their theme song is first).