Some people thought that if you ate potatoes, your skin would look like the skin of a potato
Other people could not believe that you ate the underground part of the plant, so they ate the leaves instead
This made them sick because there is poison in the leaves
Others grew potatoes for their flowers
At one time in France, potato flowers were one of the most expensive flowers
Marie Antoinette, the wife of King Louis XVI, wore potato flowers in her hair
Around 1780, the people of Ireland started to eat potatoes
They found that potatoes had many advantages
The potato grew on poor land, and it grew well in their cold and rainy climate
It gave more food than any other plant, and it needed little work
All they had to do was to plant the potatoes, and then they could do other work on the farm
On a small piece of land, a farmer could grow enough potatoes to feed his family
A person could eat 8 to 10 pounds of potatoes a day, with some milk or cheese, and be very healthy
Soon, potatoes became the main food in Ireland
Then, in 1845, a disease killed all the potatoes in Ireland
Two million people died of hunger
Many Irish who did not die came to the United States at this time
Over a million Irish came to America; one of them was the great-grandfather of John F. Kennedy
In other parts of Europe, people did not want to change their old food habits
Some preferred to die of hunger rather than eat potatoes
In 1774, King Frederick of Germany wanted to stop his people from dying of hunger
He understood that potatoes were a good food, so he told the people to plant and eat potatoes or else his men would cut off their noses
The people were not happy, but they had no choice and so started to eat potatoes
Today, people in this part of Germany eat more potatoes than any other nationality
Each person eats about 370 pounds of potatoes every year!
Today, many countries have their own potato dishes
Germans eat potato salad, and the United States has the baked potato
And, of course, the French invented French fries
Now French fries are popular all over the world
The English eat them with salt and vinegar, the French eat them with salt and pepper, the Belgians eat them with mayonnaise, and the Americans eat them with ketchup