Behold the common potato: such a staple of our diet, such a disparaged tuber. Take our quiz about potatoes – blissfully free of any questions about the fattening french-fried variety.
1. A recent study by scientists at the USDA's Agricultural Research Service determined that potatoes originated where?
a) Ireland
b) Chile
c) Russia
d) China
2. By what percentage does cubing a potato for boiling purposes reduce its mineral content?
a) 5 percent
b) 50 percent
c) 75 percent
d) 92.7 percent
3. How many calories does a potato – baked with skin and with no added salt – contain?
a) 278
b) 178
c) 78
d) 300
4. Which famous British author said the following: "What I say is that, if a fellow really likes potatoes, he must be a pretty decent sort of fellow"?
a) William Shakespeare
b) Martin Amis
c) A.A. Milne
d) Thomas Hardy
5. What percentage of the recommended daily allowance for vitamin C does 100 grams of potato contain?
a) 12 percent
b) 26 percent
c) 45 percent
d) 87 percent
6. Which U.S. vice president misspelled the plural form of potato when talking to schoolkids?
a) Al Gore
b) Dan Quayle
c) Dick Cheney
d) Alben Barkley
ANSWERS: 1: b; 2: c; 3: a; 4: c; 5: c; 6: b
Sources: nutritiondata.com; www.ars.usda.gov
– Sam McManis
smcmanis@sacbee.com
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