On Potatoes and the
Meaning of Life
For starters, you need to know that the German word for potatoes is ‘Kartoffeln’. Just file that bit of knowledge away for a moment. I want to tell you about a dream I had several years ago. It was the most wonderful dream. In it, I had it all figured out. Life, death, purpose, meaning, pain, joy--I had found the key to it all at last. As I drifted back into consciousness, I was filled with a deep, expansive feeling of happiness. Everything in the vast universe made sense and could be summed up in one glorious sentence.
We are all Kartoffeln
I felt wonderful. I got up (you’d think by now I’d have learned that this is always a bad idea) and as I got ready for the day, it slowly began to dawn on me that my grand insight was lacking something, namely: insight. I was crushed. I had come so close!! Weirdly, even now there is something that strikes me as right and satisfying about that sentence. Since, I’m not about to look too closely as to what this might reveal about my psychological makeup, I think it’s better if we all just agree that here is something deeply profound. I am surprised though, that my mind seized on potatoes. I mean, I do love potatoes, but not as passionately as I love chocolate or cheese. Still, on a recent road trip, when I saw that the Idaho Potato Museum was almost on the way, I knew I would have to make a pilgrimage to this sacred shrine of carbs.
This is a great little museum. You can’t miss it because there is a giant baked potato complete with butter and sour cream at the front to welcome you. Inside, there are exhibits which walk you through the noble history of the potato, some films, and singing potatoes, even some virtual reality glasses that let you feel as though you are sitting on a harvester. There are impressive displays of mashers and peelers too.
I thought I’d share a few fun facts that I’m sure I’ll remember long after I forget everything else like who I am and who my family is.
First, the world’s largest potato chip is 25 inches across and would be 192 calories. It is forever enshrined here.
Second, we owe the invention of the television in part to the potato. The story goes that when Philo Farnsworth was young, he worked on his family potato farm. He’d been thinking about the problem of transmitting pictures from here to there and it was while looking back at the neatly plowed rows of potatoes that he had the inspiration of transmitting data in rows that could be interpreted as visual images. I love that the guy who inadvertently invented the couch potato was inspired by the potato. Incidentally, I’ve heard that in later life, Mr. Farnsworth didn’t watch TV himself because he said there was nothing worth watching.
My favorite fun fact though, is this: you may already know that potatoes took a while to catch on in Europe. In the 1500’s they were thought to be poisonous, maybe even evil, and were viewed with deep suspicion. In England one organization that discouraged potatoes was called--wait for it--
the Society for the Prevention of Unwholesome Diets or,
S.P.U.D
We finished off our visit with potato ice-cream (really good) and fries and of course, a visit to the gift shop. I can honestly say that the gift shop has the best potato themed t-shirts I’ve ever seen. Sadly, they were sold out of several sizes, including mine. So, instead, I bought a blown glass potato Christmas ornament, which gives you an idea of the exquisite taste with which I decorate for the holidays.
As I drove away, I felt lucky to have seen something quirky and unique. Except that I learned it isn’t all that unique! Silly me, I’d assumed that one museum devoted to potatoes was plenty for one planet to enjoy, but I was mistaken. There are also potato museums in New Mexico, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany and Italy. I have no idea why.
Maybe deep down, we are all Kartoffeln after all.
We are all Kartoffeln
I felt wonderful. I got up (you’d think by now I’d have learned that this is always a bad idea) and as I got ready for the day, it slowly began to dawn on me that my grand insight was lacking something, namely: insight. I was crushed. I had come so close!! Weirdly, even now there is something that strikes me as right and satisfying about that sentence. Since, I’m not about to look too closely as to what this might reveal about my psychological makeup, I think it’s better if we all just agree that here is something deeply profound. I am surprised though, that my mind seized on potatoes. I mean, I do love potatoes, but not as passionately as I love chocolate or cheese. Still, on a recent road trip, when I saw that the Idaho Potato Museum was almost on the way, I knew I would have to make a pilgrimage to this sacred shrine of carbs.
This is a great little museum. You can’t miss it because there is a giant baked potato complete with butter and sour cream at the front to welcome you. Inside, there are exhibits which walk you through the noble history of the potato, some films, and singing potatoes, even some virtual reality glasses that let you feel as though you are sitting on a harvester. There are impressive displays of mashers and peelers too.
I thought I’d share a few fun facts that I’m sure I’ll remember long after I forget everything else like who I am and who my family is.
First, the world’s largest potato chip is 25 inches across and would be 192 calories. It is forever enshrined here.
Second, we owe the invention of the television in part to the potato. The story goes that when Philo Farnsworth was young, he worked on his family potato farm. He’d been thinking about the problem of transmitting pictures from here to there and it was while looking back at the neatly plowed rows of potatoes that he had the inspiration of transmitting data in rows that could be interpreted as visual images. I love that the guy who inadvertently invented the couch potato was inspired by the potato. Incidentally, I’ve heard that in later life, Mr. Farnsworth didn’t watch TV himself because he said there was nothing worth watching.
My favorite fun fact though, is this: you may already know that potatoes took a while to catch on in Europe. In the 1500’s they were thought to be poisonous, maybe even evil, and were viewed with deep suspicion. In England one organization that discouraged potatoes was called--wait for it--
the Society for the Prevention of Unwholesome Diets or,
S.P.U.D
We finished off our visit with potato ice-cream (really good) and fries and of course, a visit to the gift shop. I can honestly say that the gift shop has the best potato themed t-shirts I’ve ever seen. Sadly, they were sold out of several sizes, including mine. So, instead, I bought a blown glass potato Christmas ornament, which gives you an idea of the exquisite taste with which I decorate for the holidays.
As I drove away, I felt lucky to have seen something quirky and unique. Except that I learned it isn’t all that unique! Silly me, I’d assumed that one museum devoted to potatoes was plenty for one planet to enjoy, but I was mistaken. There are also potato museums in New Mexico, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany and Italy. I have no idea why.
Maybe deep down, we are all Kartoffeln after all.