Antoine Augustine Parmentier a chemist and pharmacist,
overcame the potatoes bad rap for the French
when he acquired a miserable and unproductive spot of ground outside of Paris.
There, he planted 50 acres of potatoes.
During the day, he set a guard over it.
This drew considerable attention in the neighborhood.
In the evening the guard was relaxed and the locals came to see
what all the fuss was about.
Believing this
...