My cup runneth over

Can you believe it? It seems that not only is this British Pie Week, it is in fact the whole Year of the Potato. And that’s backed by the mighty UN, so it must be for serious.

Some little known facts about the potato:

• It does not, in fact, end in the letter ‘e’ (ok, most people know that already, but in an election year, I thought it was a fun reminder of some lighter moments in Republican party ineptitude. Makes a change from the more serious ineptitude of late)
• There’s not only a year dedicated to it, but a new book -- and Marie Antoinette was a potato promoter... so perhaps she could've said 'let them eat pommes de terre'
• The potato is the world's fourth most important food crop (answers to 1,2,3 most important below)
• The potato was first domesticated by hunters and gatherers around Lake Titicaca (I think it probably looked something like this)
• If you're lucky, you too can read the very first issue of the Frozen Potato Product Newsletter -- and get in there on the ground floor
• There are 7500 varieties of potatoes (how come there are only about 3 or so at the grocery store then -- tiny, a little bigger, and baking size?)
• And finally, the best mashed potatoes in the whole world are made by none other than Ashley Paul Agar. And reader, I married him.

*top 3 crops ahead of potatoes are maize, wheat & rice, btw