Everybody Loves Potatoes, But You Should Know The Truth

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About Thoughty2
Thoughty2 (Arran) is a British KZbinr and gatekeeper of useless facts. Thoughty2 creates mind-blowing factual videos about science, tech, history, opinion and just about everything else.
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Editing: Sandeep Rai

[@ATLmodK]

Many other crops were grown in Ireland during the years of the potato blight as you pointed out. The issue was that the Irish were not allowed to eat crops that were meant for export and/or the diet of English landowners

[@bythelee]

It beggars belief that so many could literally starve to death "in a land AWASH with food". The potato famine had no effect on the grains, animals, and other edible produce. I cannot imagine how 8 million peasants could watch all that sustenance that THEY had to produce, being taken from their hands and exported. Cruelty beyond belief. Why not steal it? Some did, but they would be shot if caught. It was ruled by the country that sent children to Australia for stealing one loaf of bread. (That was the backstory to "Great Expectations", after all. And now it wants to send asylum seekers to Rwanda. Some things never change.)

[@ATLmodK]

@@bythelee very well said 🇮🇪💚

[@amykean6125]

​​@@bytheleeit wasn't a tragedy, that term does not encompass what was going on. The proper term for what happened is genocide.

[@Erowens98]

It can't be that simple. When your family and your friends family is starving, you don't care what you're "allowed" to eat. And if someone tries to "persuade" you otherwise, you and your buddies relieve them of power over you by force.

[@ATLmodK]

@@Erowens98 It was that simple. The English landlords had the power to kill of imprison anybody “stealing” a grain of food. Tenants were only allowed to eat the potatoes they grew, nothing else. There were constant upheavals, and with the diaspora Irish thriving elsewhere, the ability to fight back slowly grew, but that happened after the Great Death.

[@Bealzbob]

Yep Irish here. We also werent allowed to fish our rivers. Thank you for an accurate and well researched video. Also, on the mono cultures, the Cavendish itself is a replacement after a bacteria made the gros michel variety unviable. Thats the one our parents and grandparents grew up eating. All but wiped out now except for small markets.

[@georgejones3526]

That’s why artificial banana flavoring doesn’t taste like todays bananas, it tastes like the Gros Michel.

[@SmilingIbis]

@@georgejones3526 All bananas taste gross.

[@georgejones3526]

@@SmilingIbis I get your play on words but you’re kind of right. I’m old enough to have eaten Gros Michel bananas when I was a kid and believe me, the ones we have now don’t taste half as good.

[@conorharan582]

Not really accurate considering he left out the part that the English exported our food

[@Bealzbob]

@@conorharan582 He literally mentions the English exporting food a few times in the video.

[@HPTBANDIT]

My great grandfather was born in 1842 in Ireland. I don’t know much about him, but I would guess the potato famine was the reason he ended up in the US.

[@pegs1659]

The same with my great great grandmother.

[@VGI4NI]

My great grandfather got here in the late 1800s same reason my grandpa was first born in America in 1905

[@mjc8248]

Same here, I still have family there.

[@MR._SNAJI]

​@@VGI4NIa

[@herrono4964]

Mine never left🔥🔥🔥 We are simply built different.

[@glenns5627]

I've learned with Thoughty2's titles, that the more boring-looking the subject, the more I'd better get in and watch it. Damn, the man can produce a video! Thanks, Mr. 2, for so many incredible productions!

[@bythelee]

This is a painfully difficult topic to breach. The wounds are still raw, despite all of the time that has passed. Because the sweeping changes that began in 1845 are STILL being felt to this very day. It felt like the usual Thoughty2 humour level was toned down, but thankfully still present. And an extremely decent attempt to cover what can only be described as callous brutality by a British government. To clarify some points: - the coffin ships were a complete lottery. The Dunbrody is now a floating museum in New Ross, and had a decent captain that kept a doctor in his crew. He did not lose a single passenger on his voyages. Meanwhile, two of the four ships that carried 1500 people from Strokestown fared far worse. 1/3 never reached foreign shores. The best ships lost 30% of their passangers, the two worst lost around 56% en route. ALL arriving passengers were quarantined, riddled with disease, when they docked in Canada. One ship had but 3 crewmen left, the captain and all officers having perished on the single voyage. They wanted to sink the ship, fearing the "contamination that has seeped into the timbers". - the teaching of English in schools post-famine was compulsory, because "emigration is inevitable". From that peak of 8.5 million, Ireland lost around 3 million to death, disease, and emigration in the famine decade. But the population continued to dwindle, dropping as low as 2.5 million by 1920. That's over 60 years that another 3 million Irish drained away from their homeland. Also, now you start to see why ships like Titannic had such large steerage class accommodation. Not solely for the Irish by that time, but even Titannic had stopped at Cobh (pronounced Cove) to pick up Irish emigrees, some of whom had walked the length of the island to get to the embarkation point. - local English landlords, who owned much of the land that was then rented back to the peasants, lived lavish lifestyles that were far beyond their means. Rents were too high for the peasants to pay, but a major exascerbating factor was that there was no money to respond to the emergency. The "lord of the Manor" at Strokestown in Roscommon was about £30,000 in debt - that's about £6million in today's money. He tried harder than you might expect to help his tenants, but he couldn't even maintain his own lifestyle, never mind find the funds to run a soup kitchen. It was a perfect storm of a crisis needing huge sums to pay the daylight robbery rates for grains and other foods available in the markets, right at a time when everyone was in debt up to the hilt. - even when there was charity, and a soup kitchen to at least feed the starving, there were conditions attached... Wealthier Protestants running soup kitchens demanded that the Catholic Irish receiving a bowl of soup renounce their faith and become Protestant. Forced to choose between faith and starvation, it was impossible. Not least because of peer pressure. "Taking the soup" became a label of traitordom - that you had abandoned your faith and sold your soul for that soup. It remains an obscure insult to this day, but declaring that someone has "taken the soup" is to say they have betrayed their principles and sold out. - in contrast to the handouts requested in today's famines and disasters, ALL of the "petition letters" written by peasant consortiums, priests, etc appealing for help did NOT ask for free food, nor even free money. They ALL requested WORK. That they might earn a wage, to buy the extortionately priced food in the market. That alone is a huge contrasting shock to today's "give me" culture. Given all they have had to endure, I think today's Irish can be extremely proud of the survival and independent nature of their country. Never mind the referendum that approved gay marriage, despite an overwhelmingly Catholic majority, it is little known that the charters reaching for Irish independence from the UK back in 1916-1922, called upon Irish men AND WOMEN to jointly rise up and claim their heritage. And that upon independence in 1922, men and women were given equal voting rights immediately. It took until 1928 for the UK and USA to manage that milestone. Today we are so caught up in the belief that "one person, one vote" is so universal, we forget that Western Democracies have had universal suffrage for less than 100 years. Oh, and don't forget that the Greeks (who developed the concept of democracy) NEVER had universal suffrage. Only the wealthy got to vote, about 50k people out of several million...

[@Amusingmuse78]

Thank you! One can never learn too much 😉

[@suelane3628]

Yes. I was at school in the UK in the 1970s. We were taught about these horrible Irishman who were bombing the English but not why. Luckily I left school when I was 16 and educated myself. I am ashamed of being English!

[@ladybookworms]

Thank you for taking the time to share this has been very informative and not something you can get from any book etc. Esp that last bit. No wonder Democracy as a system remains flawed to this day.

[@winterkill1764]

Trust me, as a poor person who lived on potatoes You cannot eat a rotten potato it actually smells like a decomposing corpse. I can remember days when the family would come home and it would stink to high heaven because of one rotten potato. I don't keep potatoes in the house now because of it

[@MadDragon75]

I visualize the scene from "Lord of War" the sea train with rotting potatoes hiding weapons.

[@marytalbott5738]

I keep my potatoes in the kitchen island cupboards...and I've had a few occasions where I've smelled death in the kitchen and driven myself nuts trying to find the source of the horrific smell...along with the sudden bloom of hoards of fruit flies... I'd finally realize I should check the bag and sure enough, ONE single rotten potato caused my island shelf to smell and look like a crime scene! I cannot fathom trying to eat them!!! 🤢🤮

[@ShaunUnderwoodx]

no... take it you never truly been near dead body that weeks old... nothing like it

[@pootzmagootz]

Yeah it's kinda crazy how potatoes can go from perfectly edible to toxic sludge in a day or two. You'll see the potatoes one day and they'll all be fine but not even 36 hours later the kitchen smells like sewage and a singular former potato looks like a Lovecraftian tar creature

[@comfortsoft2657]

​@@ShaunUnderwoodxpost-potate syndrome aye? 😅

[@FlashmanVC]

When I temporarily moved into a house in college somebody left a bag of potatoes in the basement that had completely rotted. The smell was so bad I couldn’t get close enough to the bag to remove them without vomiting. At the time I didn’t know it but that was apparently because they were producing toxic gas. We had to go to home depot and get a hazardous material mask

[@martineldritch]

Ugh, I recently heard a true story about fatalities in a family because of gasses from rotten potatoes in the basement.

[@laikanbarth]

@@martineldritchYep, I heard that same true story too.

[@Matty-kelly]

​@@martineldritchmr ballen?

[@Baldie731]

Yep, i've heard it too. little girl's brother, her parents, grand parents, all died. they all went one by one, to get the potato from the basement.@@laikanbarth

[@sophielegay4104]

Yes, the only reason why the little girl didn't died too was because the last person going into the basement left the door open before dying. Really sad story.

[@Valkron11]

The British response to the potato famine reminds me a lot of the WEF telling the world to eat bugs. I doubt Klaus Schwab ever sits down to a hearty bowl of crickets 🤨

[@maciej9280]

they are actually quite tasty, taste bit like nuts when roasted

[@maozedong8370]

Irrelevant. Bugs are a great source of protein and incredibly plentiful. It doesn't matter if someone rich with access to other food is telling you to eat them, not doing so would be stupid. They are plentiful in South East Asia and Africa, the only reason they aren't consumed in western nations is solely due to culture.

[@rickybobby5153]

@@maciej9280I would try locust, not crickets though. The grubs in lion king always looked good… and are really pretty in real life 😂 I’d imagine they taste nothing how they look though and are likely poisonous 😂

[@Valkron11]

@@maozedong8370 enjoy your bugs. I'd rather hunt deer and rabbits 🦌🐇😋

[@jjbudgie]

Fry with some olive oil and add bbq seasoning and they're nice

[@anti-liberal7167]

Mr. Ballen had a story about potatoes killing a mom dad brother and grandma they were stored in the basement and had spoiled and some kind of toxic gas was produced and filled the basement up with the gas the dad went down to get some of them and when he didnt asnwer his wife she went down to check on him when she didnt answer the brother went down when he didnt answer the grandma went down but before she went down she had called the neighbor for help by the time he got there the daughter was the only one left alive one if the most mind blowing heartbreaking stories ive ever heard

[@k9thundra]

My grandma told me to never eat green potatos. if green goes beyond the skin throw it out. She also said never store potatoes in a place that doesn't have good ventilation. I didn't understand why till I heard that story.

[@wisdomleader85]

I recall the story. All but one of that family got wiped out. Extremely tragic.

[@Valkron11]

I think it was the youngest girl of the family that went for help when none of the rest of her family returned from the basement. Truly tragic 😢

[@klarabarunovic9841]

Yeah, I thought that 42 was about to tell the same story...

[@tannerbenson7864]

Dude, have you ever heard of a period?

[@darrenjames2221]

Hey bro, i really felt strongly about commenting on this vid as a western Irish man. I really respect your level of research on this because it breaks my heart a little that so many are unaware of what actually happened during the famine. You gave a totally unbias and factual record of occurrences of the times and i appreciate that immensely. Love the channel bro. I hope i can keep watching, and as we say in Ireland, if you ever visit...cead mile failte ( this means "a thousand welcomes") :)

[@MovieMakingMan]

Growing up when my parents bought potatoes they were always very fresh and hard. I loved sneaking a piece of raw potato while my mom was cutting them up to boil. I never got sick from raw potatoes. In the 4th grade the teacher, Mrs Madole, asked everyone what their favorite food was. Most kids said steak, bacon or eggs. I said ‘mashed potatoes’. I loved the way mom made mashed potatoes. She didn’t make them like most people do. Most add all kinds of seasonings and so much butter they turn yellow. And then they mix them so much they are like soup. I think that’s the way most southerners make them. But my mom just lightly fluffed potatoes and didn’t put but one sliver of butter in them. They were delicious. I make mine the way my mom makes them but I add absolutely nothing to them and they are delicious with a perfect texture. Today’s potatoes are often soft and spongy on the grocery shelf. Potatoes also rot so much faster now. I don’t know what they are doing to potatoes but they are getting worse.

[@MarlKitsune]

3 things. They choose species that are spongy so they don't get bruised in transit. Most commercial farms over water just before harvesting so the potatoes have more weight and that makes them softer. And finally most potatoes sit for 6-8 before being bought.(some pass a year before the getting sold by the stores)

[@MovieMakingMan]

@@MarlKitsune Thanks for that explanation.

[@mandyjk4203]

@@MovieMakingMan Potatoes are really easy to grow even in pots. If you want some nice hard potatoes you can actually grow them.

[@MovieMakingMan]

@@mandyjk4203 Thanks. Once I get through with remodeling I’d like to do that.

[@HeartyArtie]

The Choctaw Nation Native American tribe donated $170 to the relief effort. That was a lot of money in those days and it came from people enduring great hardship themselves. Their kindness to strangers in another part of the world has never been forgotten in Ireland, and in 2018 a sculpture entitled Kindred Spirits was unveiled at a ceremony attended by representatives of the Choctaw Nation and our Taoiseach in Mallow, Co. Cork.

[@SlapstickGenius23]

Awww.

[@Blackdog222]

Many Irish immigrants ended up in New Orleans Louisiana where a section of the city is known as the Irish Channel even today. During the Civil War, these men fought for the Confederates and were such fierce fighters that Robert E. Lee referred to them as his Fighting Tigers. Louisiana State University's (LSU) athletic teams became known as the Fighting Tigers. Irish making an impact.

[@ericvondell5157]

I remember reading about the potato famine in history class some five decades ago now, but, while I understand that it was a Bad thing, what we were taught barely scratched the surface of Just HOW Bad this horror story really Was. You did an incredible job putting this video together and your research into the disaster gives this generation a Great view of The Truth we aren't usually told about in high school history classes! It's scary to think about another devestating crop blight on a major vital food plant!🙀😱 If wheat, soy, corn were to be hit Hard enough by diseases, the entire world as we know it, could Fall apart and civilization fail.🙀😱

[@ATLmodK]

There is great concern about the Russians blockading Ukrainian ships carrying grain to feed countries in developing nations

[@Taomantom]

As a 3rd generation Immigrant this struck home in a harsh way. In Ireland, all over the country side, you see old stone houses with no roofs. These are the houses of the evicted who perished. 🖤

[@Lickylongtym]

😢😢❤

[@King_Cova]

Why would it strike you in any ways? You ain't Irish.

[@akina3742]

ur not irish lol.

[@akina3742]

@@King_Cova amercunts r so pathetic w their "im italiaaan:)" after they found out they 15% italian dna while never been to italy lmfao.

[@Roble-ts6iz]

sorry tor these inbred posters

[@marinatf-oy8rx]

In June 1997, Prime Minister Tony Blair issued a statement expressing remorse for inaction by the British Government during the Irish Famine. Nearly 150 years later. Previous governments refused. What is it in us, humans, that finds it so difficult to empathise and treat others with kindness and compassion…

[@slarzyer]

it like apples and oranges... everyone too busy bickering about differences to notice the sameness

[@SonarTheBat]

I thought it was common knowledge that green potatoes are toxic.

[@geo_neo9]

Only when uncooked.

[@honeybadger3570]

😂😂😂 nothing is common knowledge these days 😢

[@Vassle]

Nothing wrong with potatoes that are a bit green. The toxicity has always been over exaggerated. saying that I probably wouldn't eat one that looked like a granny smith apple!

[@charlymrivera7236]

i remember eating a slightly green potato, and i feel my stomach very acidistic

[@-SRM-]

Thank you for giving me the point of the video without 15 minutes of filler 👍

[@proanimali]

Thank you. Your message is so important! I hope it reaches all your followers, and they all respond and rethink their diets and where their food is coming from.

[@Amusingmuse78]

Ive always been aware of this just plain awful period in history but watching this really made it sink in how lucky i am to even exist! My ancestors left Ireland in 1847 for Pennsylvania. The fact they survived thru the famine, the ride over on the coffin ship & was then able to create a new life for themselves in a country that clearly didn't want them to succeed is absolutely mind-blowing 🤯 it seems one would have better odds winning the Powerball (Sidenote: my mother's side immigrated from Poland shortly after the Nazi invasion - its a strange thought that without those 2 horrendous events my ancestors never would've met & I wouldn't be here to comment on this video...)

[@robertcabrera4760]

With so many people changing and suppressing of histories, how are we ever supposed to learn from it.

[@Bleach_Tonic]

I have spoken to people from Ontario who were originally french, who lost their accent out of fear of being picked out of a crowd. Didn't know they were french until they spoke it (flawlessly, I might add). Pretty sure that's what happened with my family. I always heard we had Irish heritage, but because of the stigma, they just didn't talk about their heritage, or tried to hide their accent for the same reason. Growing up, I didn't learn where my family was from. We were just here, and we are white. That's all I knew. Learned about the Irish part when I was an adult, but my grandfather on the other side of the family would always talk about his Scottish heritage, and even had the family crest and tartan framed on his wall for years. To a certain degree, it's really a matter of ignorance and not knowing, but it really bothers me, now, knowing that I have ancestors who went through all that to scrounge up $2-$5 just for me to get fat and watch videos or game out all day hahaha.... damn...

[@maozedong8370]

Simple. IGNORE the real history and do what big brother tells you to. DON'T let me catch you bad-mouthing our "overseers" ever again.

[@adude7944]

You are not supposed to. You are supposed to blindly follow and not think.

[@laikanbarth]

That’s why we have to fight back

[@Syph1l1S]

Exactly.

[@vanessamelanson4111]

Loved this episode! Would love to see your presentation of Acadian culture and the Acadian Expulsion (the Great Upheaval). It's a very small part of French Canadian history that gets overlooked outside of the Maritime provinces, but is interesting nonetheless. :)

[@AcrylicGoblin]

I remember a friend of a friend coming over, smelling the garlic fried potatoes we'd just finished eating, and decided to fry up all the green peels. I practically begged him not to do it, but he cooked them and ate them anyway. I didn't notice anything wrong with him after that except that he was stupid. But he was stupid before that, so I guess he came out ok.

[@archimedes2261]

Are you saying he was a potato 🥔 head 😄

[@cowboyofscience7611]

Nice story!

[@davidmacphee3549]

I can't remember the last time I wasn't stupid. Oh well ...

[@AcrylicGoblin]

@@davidmacphee3549 😂😂😂. Me either, now that you mention it.

[@davidmacphee3549]

Wait! I have an Idea .. Uhh , never Mind. Hmm ... I forgot what is was. @@AcrylicGoblin

[@jh-kv6pq]

I just want to add, there was a huge migration of Irish to Quebec during this time. Those Irish had their names and identities changed as compensation. They were put into French work houses and the children adopted into French families. I grew up thinking I was half French, however when I did my ancestry I discovered these facts, my French side being fully Irish.

[@nicoleeo7984]

I might have to look into this. My family had a French last name but when I did both 23andMe and AncestryDNA there was no French ancestry, but there was about 9% British/Irish, which was a surprise. My Grandpa grew up being told his ancestors came from France to Quebec before they eventually moved to Minnesota. I do have distant relatives in Quebec that are connections in both AncestryDNA and 23andMe.

[@brando8086]

Tons of irish genetics here in Quebec City.

[@bobs182]

My great grandfather's name was William A. Bone which was changed by immigration from Baun.

[@jh-kv6pq]

@@bobs182 East coast states have alot of names that were originally French also. When you see how often names change or have been changed, show's you how little importance a name is.

[@SuburbanPony]

Fantastic editing! I have just started out editing videos for a KZbinr recently and your editing is so smooth and unobtrusive! Love it Sandeep Rai!

[@pamsharpe60]

My ggg grandfather left Ireland for England during the famine. He married a Newcastle woman and eventually I came along. He opened a shop in Newcastle and eventually owned a linen and tobacco importing company. From rags to riches, not that any of it drifted down to me!

[@pamsharpe60]

@@drifter3166 his name was Thomas Gallagher, the shop was in the Bigg Market (think that’s how Bigg is spelled) No idea where the tobacco and linen place was, wish I did!

[@MollyPrewittWeasley]

Correction: The country of Ireland has just surpassed 5 million. The ISLAND of Ireland (so included Northern Ireland) has surpassed 7 mil.

[@EllieMaes-Grandad]

Who has arrived to increase the numbers . . . ? How's the culture going?

[@gerwheelz3154]

​@@EllieMaes-Grandad take a look at the recent chaos in dublin and you will see how it's going.

[@EllieMaes-Grandad]

People are waking up - at last. @@gerwheelz3154

[@MichaelTheoret]

@@gerwheelz3154 < What's going on in Dublin ? Seems my News Source doesn't mention anything .

[@SlapstickGenius23]

@@gerwheelz3154 the recent chaos in Dublin Ireland seems to be caused by disinformation and insanely radicalised t*rr*rist groups regardless of which wing they belong to. The country’s own RTE is treading rather carefully on this matter.

[@titmusspaultpaul5]

Fantastic video and very informative. I knew of the potato famine from school but not much else about it. Your video really gave a lot of important information and opened my eyes up to this issue. Big thumbs up.... cheers.

[@brianlambert5282]

I really love your videos and how you do comparison and contrast. Brings back memories of my college days and the courses I had to take for my engineering degree. Great job!!

[@ernestweaver5544]

Excellent Job Thoughty. Thank you for the History lesson. Can't get enough.

[@justralphajerseyguystuckin3671]

This was a very interesting and educational video, I learned a lot, thank you so much for making it and sharing it with us....and the ending part is especially a wake-up call to the WORLD !

[@pascale516]

Hello Thoughty2, I love all your videos. All the aspects of them: their content, setting, development, excellent story telling, animation, music. The whole package is educative, entertaining. Smartly done ! I’m so grateful the algorithm allowed me to find your invaluable work 😊

[@trevdagg]

When i studied for my chefing certificate i was told by my teacher the best way to store potatoes was in a hemp or burlap sack buried in the garden which makes sense when you realise the best way to store potatoes is in a dark humid area so a porous sack in the garden is a sensible choice

[@Anothermachine]

Homesteaders used to store them for months at a time in a bin filled with dry sand.

[@cincin4515]

There's a potato farmer that takes you right through the process on KZbin. He stores his millions of taters in a giant shed with fans and humidity control. He does tik toks too.

[@silversolver7809]

My parents stored them in a simple dug pit in the field, covered with earth.

[@doggiemushroomnose]

We would just put them under the kitchen sink in an old plastic gallon ice cream bucket... maybe that's just for poor people though 😂

[@sammyw7301]

I know of a few older homesteads around where I live in Canada and they would dig a well to store theirs in. There are a bunch of homes from the 40s that have dirt cellars dug underneath them too. My great grandparents house had a dirt cellar. It creeped me out but I lived the smell of it lol

[@pskarnaq73]

Ask an Irishman about the "Potato Famine." I have 2 friends who grew up there who didn't even know each other. When I brought it up to both of them, their answer was the same.... "How do you have a famine on an island with an abundance of fish to be caught? It wasn't a famine, it was genocide. The English would kill any Irishman they found trying to get any kind of food other than the potato."

[@cincin4515]

It was genocide.

[@dtaylor10chuckufarle]

Fact. ☘

[@rickhernandez7666]

And people wonder why the Irish hate the English...

[@PlatinumRatio]

doing it to Palestine for decades now

[@markup6394]

@@PlatinumRatio The palestines are neither enslaved nor are they forced to eat rotten food. Dont mix up facts here. Just because the people down there suffer now, doesnt mean its the same.

[@tankjoyride7533]

I find it incredibly motivating that thoughty went from random facts to a global speaker in a way. I mean, he essentially called attention to monoropping and just how colossal the problem is.

[@Mapheadmom]

This was really informative for me as I’ve been researching my geneaology for years and have ancestors that migrated here here during that time period. I had no idea how long it lasted, extending through 1847.

[@DIRTYPLACCY]

Of course you drop this video after I literally just opened a bag of potato’s that were all half green was so devo

[@artawhirler]

Excellent video about this tragic incident. Thanks!

[@Peleski]

Mum's grandfather emigrated from the Irish speaking side, to Australia during the famine. The family back there were totally wiped. Going back to see, there are just green fields and hedges, sometimes a sheep, and maybe a holy well or ruined abbey. Once thriving communties are pretty much erased.

[@skepticusmaximus184]

This was interesting in its cautionary message about monoculture, but also informative about how our individual buying and eating decisions can make us robust against the economic fallout from a biological epidemic. It also reminds us that we too are biological organisms that need to abide by mother nature's rules for survival. Buying local and diverse foods is good advice.

[@cincin4515]

There's a 3rd generation potato farmer on KZbin proving you wrong on every level. He grows and stores millions of them.

[@lilhyperionlil2521]

"Boil them, mash them , stick them in a stew " amazing reference 👏🏼

[@user-fq3ds3oq3j]

As usual an excellent exposition. Thank you Thoughty2 .

[@davidlancaster8152]

Mingia! (Italian expletive) What a pertinent and timely message. Well done Aaron! Incredible. Just Wow! Thanks so much for your knowledge and skills. Really appreciate.

[@ultima000]

Fun fact: Green tomatoes also contain solanine and are just as dangerous

[@justinwebb8831]

Fun fact ...frying removes the solanine...

[@Vassle]

Same as frying green potatoes!!

[@Vassle]

I eat green tomatoes and potatoes all the time not done me any harm

[@klarabarunovic9841]

​@@Vassleexcept your grammar, it been harmed😂

[@SFELNMOD]

Pickled green tomatoes are delicious

[@Jason-lw7tk]

People's ability to willfully allow others to suffer and die is shattering. It'd be wonderful to be able to say we learn and grow from past mistakes but it's apparent we don't. And yeah, rotten potatoes smell like someone pooped on a rotting corpse. You can't even get near one to consider eating it. Great video as always :)

[@ikonic_artworks]

Especially the response from the politicians/government. Basically "Oh well, your on your own. God and Jesus and yadda yadda."

[@ikonic_artworks]

Seems awfully familiar. And it's overwhelming how many people running the world are like that. I personally believe that humans are still so new as a species, relatively speeking, that we give ourselves more credit than we deserve. We're not that great of a species. We're selfish and we kinda suck.

[@jacqulynhilyard1561]

Good message, well said as usual. Love your channel. Very educational, thank you for sharing such important information..

[@rgnyc]

One of the best clips yet. We were taught about the potato famine in public school in the 1960s, and the teachers covered monoculture as well. I don't see anything similar being taught currently.

[@AndrewHalliwell]

You forgot to mention that the banananananana had already suffered from a similar blight, wiping out the previous variety that was a monoculture, necessitating the use of Cavendish. It's why banananana flavoured things don't taste like modern banananas, they taste like the previous variety. Damn, I've caught the Pratchett spelling condition where you know how to spell it but don't know when to stop.

[@dustylong]

😅🤣😂🤣

[@AyyasyFikri-qc8di]

That's why in Southeast Asia (and maybe Central America, but I don't live there so I wouldn't know), we despise Cavendish... We grew like 20 different variety of Bananas and Cavendish is non arguably the most hated one

[@MichaelTheoret]

So the same for me trying to spell " Mississsippi" then? Interesting .

[@kittygoesWOOF]

@@AyyasyFikri-qc8di I love bananas but prefer them when they're mostly green still. I'm guessing I have cavendish bananas, but I'm wondering if there's a variety that tastes like a green cavendish banana?

[@AyyasyFikri-qc8di]

@@kittygoesWOOF idk been a long while since I've eaten a cavendish because people just don't like it here, forgot how it even taste

[@bleachmaster99]

Fun fact… Newfoundland’s south coast has a lot of Irish mixed into the English we speak here.

[@michaelgreene2920]

Is there a difference between English and Irish language?... I thought they were both English.... what's the difference?....

[@sameulyahoot2413]

@@michaelgreene2920 The Irish language is a completely different language to English. Most people peak English because Britain colonized the island, such as Americans and Canadians mostly speak English

[@adrianred236]

There were affectively 4 class levels in Ireland, the bottom class were the croppies who worked for free for tenant farmers, all they got in return was 1/4 acre of land to feed their own family, the potato was the only crop that gave a high enough yeald on such a small amount of land.

[@l.alejandrol.aguila5374]

I've been having so many of these questions. Thank you Aryn!

[@l.alejandrol.aguila5374]

5 KG!?!?! WTFFFFF

[@emmanuelntsibande142]

I saw the thumbnail and thought it was a Matt pat video, my shock when I heard thoughty2's voice 😆

[@vadadampor4162]

Early!!! Been a follower since 2016!!! Keep doing what you do! I love learning from you ❤

[@paoloviti6156]

Very interesting video altrough quite scary because of it's almost monoculture and possibly it is understood the devastating consequences of relying on so few varieties of crops. The great problem is that economy is dictating everything in order have highest crops possible, not easy easy to solve a tall. If I recall well also Norway was suffering the same problem but very strangely Sweden didn't have any problem but I suspect that also Germany had the same problem and many immigrated to Sweden of which my Swedish family originated from as well my Swedish grandfather as well. Unfortunately I have no clue why they were suffering from hunger. Hope I didn't bore you and again thanks for sharing this very interesting video 👍👍👍👍

[@StoffelDilligas]

When I used to visit my grandparents in ballyfermot, i would always look forward to an Irish mixed grill.... Y'know jacket potatoes served with mash, topped with boiled potatoes and roast potatoes, and a plate of chips on the side. I never tried the crisps, they only ever had tayto cheese and onion, and i dont like cheese and onion

[@monkofmayhem1373]

I dont like cheese and onion but tayto cheese and onion is the only exception. Northern Tayto tho :)

[@cincin4515]

That Irish mixed grill sounds divine. ❤

[@joshg469]

They were surrounded by lobster and seafood, it was the very royal ideals that caused people to starve

[@LyranAnuhazi]

The blue bloods

[@SynomDroni]

Buying up the fleet of fishing vessels and bringing them away didn't exactly help. Learn your history. It was deliberate.

[@finncrowe333]

And also the areas of river were privately owned so they couldn't fish

[@cescentreri5231]

I imagine many tried to hunt or fish for themselves. Its a horrible situation for sure but I imagine if my family or I am starving I'm getting myself a damn rabbit or squirrel at least. There'd come a point where I don't care if it's in the 'kings forest' or not.

[@steveross8364]

Interesting and terrifying. Totally unsurprising that Westminster (London) wouldn't lift a finger to meaningfully help the Irish, whom they had been exploiting for decades, they only give a sh1t about themselves after all. Still true today. Sadly Scotland & Wales were probably struggling too during that time time for the same exploitative reasons and couldn't be of help and even if they were able to be, the english landowners would have laws in place to prevent it.

[@esecallum]

just like today. 15 billion to ukraine while homless on the streets

[@steveross8364]

@@esecallum Can understand the Ukraine war support, can't stomach the pandering to Illegals in hotels costing MILLIONS per day. That would be better spent supporting our Veterans and Homeless.

[@esecallum]

@@steveross8364 why do you need to fight russians and 6000 miles away from your own border? 15 billion. usa has sent 300 billion and has 15 tent cities now..all natos fault for encircling russia. 700000 dead killed by nato

[@cincin4515]

The British people lived like crap in extreme poverty while working in those filthy coal mines starting at age 10 just to eek out a life of misery and early death. They only closed the last of them down in the 60's and torn down those disgusting terrace house slums they all lived in. Don't blame the British people. Blame the politics of the era.

[@steveross8364]

@@cincin4515 Errr that's what I was doing.

[@karahanley4228]

I LOVE your messages at the end

[@richardsang3681]

Think your videos are amazing always something new to learn or go into depth with thank you 🙏

[@FirstBornProtoType]

I had no idea that the Irish famine had so much effect on the country. Damn.

[@cincin4515]

And other countries as it triggered mass migration to survive starvation.

[@johndoerr8853]

The world. Gotta remember the rest of the world viewed Irish the same way the Irish viewed the famine, as a blight on every society.

[@abagpiperyoumetinmexico211]

Butterfly effect is the root cause for the fact that the potato famine caused indirectly that i now play in the bagpipe band i play in. When some of those irishmen came to the americas they were drafted into the american army to fight in the war against my homeland of Mexico. Although Mexico lost the war, some of those brave irishmen alongside some scots germans and poles decided to switch allegiances and they formed the Saint Patricks Batalion and fought on the mexican side. Fast forward 150 years after that fateful battle at Churubusco when the batalion was defeated, Rafael Gutiérrez, amexican piper who had recently graduated from a renowned scottish piping institution, Forms the Banda de Gaitas del Batallón de San Patricio or St.Patricks Batalion Pipes and Drums, in memory of those brave men who gave their lives in the name of our freedom. Now, the first sunday of each month, we give a small 40 minutes long concert at the place where the last battle of the original Batalion was fought, the Exconvento de Churubusco. Long live Mexico and Ireland And long live the memory of the San Patricios

[@user-il7tc1vr2d]

Great story. Thanks for sharing. Butterfly effect indeed.

[@WaterShowsProd]

I expected you to mention the Gros Michel banana which was the commercial banana of choice before a similar blight led to the Cavendish being used instead. Here in Thailand, Cavendish is just one type of banana you can buy at any market, and I even found Gros Michel bananas on sale in my neighbourhood market. I have to say I preferred the Gros Michel to the Cavendish. They are very similar, but the Gros Michel has a bit more flavour. People don't realise what they're missing out on due to a similar situation that took place.

[@WeberMachineWorks]

thanks for making such well put together videos.

[@SenRyoku3]

We just had a sad case here in Finland where spoiled green potatoes ended up in the dog food of a trusted dog food manufacturer and hundreds of dogs got ill and some had to be put down because of it. The danger is real and still EU doesn’t want to put up real concrete limits for solanine levels.

[@SenRyoku3]

If anyone is curious to know more about this case, google “smaak koiranruoka myrkytys” and use google translate to translate some Finnish articles about it.

[@doggiemushroomnose]

How terrible...poor puppers

[@Roble-ts6iz]

:( I'm so sorry :( Rest in peace good boys n girls :( was it a global brand?

[@SlapstickGenius23]

I think the EU’s single governments need to rethink about solanine levels too!

[@SenRyoku3]

@@Roble-ts6iz A local one, but the ingredient that had the toxic can be bought by any European country, so who knows if this affects other countries as well :(

[@kevineastwood-tm2mt]

Dude I've just been checkin out some of your first "editions", hehe, the "alcohol" and "coke" ones. Bro, think about how far you've come! Luv it tho bro, pls keep it coming mate cause quite honestly, you're awesome... I wish I'd thought of this lol. All the best, Kev(Blighty)

[@anicecupoftea8303]

Potatoes come from the same family of plants as the deadly nightshade, so be careful.

[@25mking]

Great history lesson. Like many, a sad one. Thanks for sharing.

[@6theripper642]

As always, i love your videos Thoughty2. Thanks!

[@BecBec295]

The green you sometimes see in potatoes isn't because it's old, it's because the potato was poking out into the sun and so it has chlorophyll in it so it can photosynthesize. It is toxic, but not hugely toxic. You'd need to eat a fair bit to have a problem. It's totally fine to trim that bit off and eat the rest of the potato.

[@danielriley7380]

Biology wasn’t your best subject, was it? Chlorophyll develops in leaves, not bulbs. That green is solanine, which is toxic.

[@BecBec295]

@danielriley7380 chlorophyll doesn't just show up in leaves. You can't make fun of someone's biology knowledge when it is clearly not your best subject. It's not solanine. Here's an excerpt from the Wikipedia article on solanine "Potatoes naturally produce solanine and chaconine, a related glycoalkaloid, as a defense mechanism against insects, disease, and herbivores. Potato leaves, stems, and shoots are naturally high in glycoalkaloids. When potato tubers are exposed to light, they turn green and increase glycoalkaloid production. This is a natural defense to help prevent the uncovered tuber from being eaten. The green colour is from chlorophyll, and is itself harmless. However, it is an indication that increased level of solanine and chaconine may be present. In potato tubers, 30-80% of the solanine develops in and close to the skin, and some potato varieties have high levels of solanine"

[@galaxyanimal]

@@danielriley7380 Actually, potato bulbs develop both chlorophyll and solanine together when exposed to light. Green chlorophyll on a potato bulb means that it almost certainly has higher levels of solanine, which is actually white, not green.

[@danielriley7380]

@@galaxyanimal there is no chlorophyll in the tuber of a potato plant, only in the leaves and stem. Any green in the actual tuber is solanine. Just Google “chlorophyll potato” if you don’t believe me.

[@murderedcarrot9684]

I’ve eaten so many green edged potatoe chips, potatoes with a green spot in my life.

[@iole96792]

Me too... am I dead?

[@murderedcarrot9684]

@@iole96792 maybe.

[@murderedcarrot9684]

@@iole96792 when you are at home, do people act like your not there? And when you say hey loud they look at you shocked but stay quiet?

[@thehandliesthandle]

my parents used to feed me bad potatoes all the time when i was a kid. they did not check if the potatoes were bad, and they didn't cut out the bad parts of the potato. back then, i thought i disliked potatoes because of the terrible bitter taste, but now i have a potato or two every day 🥔

[@iole96792]

LOL@@murderedcarrot9684

[@alanjameson8664]

As memory serves me, in Ireland potatoes were at first grown as in the Andes---on narrow raised beds with shallow ditches on each side. In an attempt to grow more potatoes, they were planted in flat fields, so became more likely to acquire fungal diseases. Another note about potatoes, which was of great importance on the Continent, was that unlike grain crops (which could easily be burnt), marauding armies were not willing to go to the work of destroying them.

[@isnamthere4690]

Whoever does the artwork for your video icons is outstanding.

[@michaelmcdonnell5998]

Your stomach thinks all potatoes are mashed!

[@Wolfenacht]

This is another example why I always say "Humans are reactionary, and in order to survive, we need to start planning for disasters". Every time it's a reaction. We are still reacting to some comets/meteors and honestly, if one barreled towards us, we have a slim chance of coming out of it. Climate change is real and it's going to get to a point where we are screwed. The problems we have as a reactionary species, is when you face a global pandemic that has an event horizon that can take years to know about. By the time we see that the world is going downhill, we will be far passed the event horizon, and nothing we can do will stop it. We need to stop being reactionary.

[@davidsmith8279]

Climate change is natural has been occurring since time immemorial. Keep your Net Zero and Carbon Footprint. Only thing I want our species to do is cut out plastics.

[@john-roywattie1483]

Much love to the Irish people's! A lot were shipped to Aotearoa new zealand by the British to be sl@ves along side of my Ancestors when England colonised my country so we have deep ties & connections through our suffering and hardships experienced together here under the authority of the royal crown

[@jeremyroland5602]

When will you bring back your podcast? I loved it so much 😩

[@alaaobaid3363]

You should have mentioned the help provided by native Americans to Ireland, and as a Palestinian, no words can describe my gratitude, respect and admiration of the Irish people for their stance against the genocide, and I hope one day I could visit beautiful Ireland and do everything I can to return favor

[@user-si8kc3zr1z]

I hope you realize I’ll still delightedly be indulging in potatoes at least 2x a day

[@johnmoran8805]

Good video, with a great PSA regarding monoculture crops. Thanks!

[@LeatherLaceStudios]

Thank you for all of your amazing work! and thank you for sharing your amazing talent and hard work with us all!

[@somerandomfella]

The world never learns.

[@mattwuk]

The fact you casually use twat as a verb is glorious.

[@annalisette5897]

According to reports, the U.S. state of Oregon is shutting down small farmers and gardens that supply local produce. There are a number of videos coming out about this. It has something to do with a law that declares ground water, wells, etc. to be a public resource. Therefore, small farms are not allowed to use this resource to water vegetable crops, according to reports. I own land -- now in an LLC for my protection -- in Oregon but long ago moved my business and myself to Idaho, the state of my birth. A big reason why I did this is that land owners in Oregon do not exactly have private property. Government, in my experience can interfere and demand anything at any time. I am sure this is a complex subject. Though I am a journalist, I feel extreme tension when I go to my Oregon properties. I have just begun to relax a bit in Idaho and since I do no farming in Oregon, I cannot bear to learn about the subject. If diversification is strategic and life saving, why is Oregon allegedly shutting down local growers of small crops? And meanwhile, why are arid, drought prone, eastern parts of the state, specifically Baker County, suddenly growing hundreds of acres of corn -- maize for folks outside USA -- which requires intense irrigation? It is only in the past decade or so that huge swaths of corn have been grown in that location. If anyone is truly concerned about monoculture and possible famines, etc., check out Oregon and ask the tough questions!

[@fredflintstoner596]

Mrs Richards: "I paid for a room with a view !" Basil: (pointing to the lovely view) "That is Torquay, Madam ." Mrs Richards: "It's not good enough!" Basil: "May I ask what you were expecting to see out of a Torquay hotel bedroom window ? Sydney Opera House, perhaps? the Hanging Gardens of Babylon? Herds of wildebeest sweeping majestically past?..." Mrs Richards: "Don't be silly! I expect to be able to see the sea!" Basil: "You can see the sea, it's over there between the land and the sky." Mrs Richards: "I'm not satisfied. But I shall stay. But I expect a reduction." Basil: "Why?! Because Krakatoa's not erupting at the moment ?"

[@izznt]

I know I'm not even 2 minutes in yet, but I forgive potatoes. I love potatoes, and potatoes love me

[@o0o-jd-o0o95]

are you sure they love you? they could be lying about that

[@Prymelinx]

They don't love you. They're just using you for transportation.

[@SearchIndex]

Thank you so much for posting this …my mum is Irish ☘️ ❤

[@jeremiahlyleseditor437]

This was a great video. Nice bit of history. I had heard of the famine but I did not know that they ate ONLY that and nothing else. They are healthier for it though by comparison to some others.

[@cincin4515]

They were starving peasants before the famine FFS. The Lord's owned everything, including the people and controlled the food, hogging it for themselves. Their life was horrible, poor, freezing, sick, high child mortality. Where on earth do you get this magical Disneyland style yesteryear from?

[@smert_ditto]

Great video as always! but please stop using the ai generated thumbnails, they look much worse than the old ones.

[@Dr_Delirium]

I’d love to watch a video of the only country flag with a dragon on it and why

[@dragonrider9051]

Yes!

[@honorafox4709]

My great great great grandfather immigrated here to Virginia from Ellis Island after leaving Ireland during the potato famine. I learned about him after I became older. He came down here to southwestern Virginia and married a pureblooded Cherokee woman. What an odd pair they must have made. A lanky, blonde fair-skinned man and a tall, dark skinned, dark haired woman. It's actually quite nice to know and I'm pretty proud of that. My hair, build and skin tone, especially forming a deep tan in the sun naturally durijg warmer months is all a strong combination from them. 💙 lol so is my temperament.

[@johncox2865]

Very educational. Thanks.

[@Rakool]

Jokes on you! Potatoes kill more people than guns each year Source: trust me bro

[@funveeable]

Irish people weren't killed by capitalism, they were killed by government. Government came in with guns and captured land with no compensation to the Irish.

[@thomassecurename3152]

Bold statement. No story. Propaganda.

[@aaftiyoDkcdicurak]

​@@thomassecurename3152do you doubt his degree in Trustmeology🧐

[@thomassecurename3152]

@@aaftiyoDkcdicurak You’ve succumbed to clickbait. No it’s not a trustworthy source.

[@karenroot450]

Yes rotten potatoes do smell bad. But I can always tell when there are rotten citrus fruits in a store immediately while walking in! Great story

[@Rayman1971]

I worked produce. If anything was going off in the citrus boxes, I picked up on it right away!

[@cincin4515]

Even slightly rotten citrus will sting my nose.

[@alanhannigan9944]

It ain't a story it's facts,that 4 million of my people died of starvation while the english watched us Irish suffer,it will never be forgotten Tal 32

[@Henri-qq6xm]

What ! There was a language "Irish" always just assumed they talk eng with an accent, although now also realized I never thought about it. super interesting

[@terminusest5902]

Great work. I have long been a huge fan of potatoes and their impact on the modern world. First for the Indians of America and then Northern Europe . Impacting the industrial revolution. Ending Europe's cycles of famine. Ireland did not lack food but most of its valuable crops were being exported. This famine did impact governments and societies support of people in crisis. Queen Victoria made very large donations. Irish gentry, not English. Though many thinking of themselves as British or English. In the long term it resulted in the Irish diaspora around the world. Many also moved to England itself for work in the industrial revolution. The worlds population is supported by man made fertilizers. Modern crops are also protected by mass, long term storage of diverse seeds.

[@dadafgf9360]

As a Nigerian , every vegetable we consume is locally produced, with little or no chemicals, our yield is mostly just left to Mother Nature , and we have naturally grown vegetables and fruits

[@smoothcriminal5650]

That’s beautiful

[@dadafgf9360]

@@smoothcriminal5650 yeah it’s so awesome, there is this big company that produces bananas and ships to mostly western countries, they sell very expensive here at home and look so big and yellow with no scratch marks on them, but those bananas are always pumped with so much chemicals to get the best yield wh makes them less tasty, but more bigger n looks more attractive than normally grown bananas for home consumption, and I’ll choose our locally grown natural produce to those healthier looking and good looking more expensive bananas any day. Edit : and I think it’s stuff like this with all these high amt of chemicals that causes the increasingly high cases of cancer in western countries than here in Africa .

[@annawebster2304]

I am 50% Irish and 50%Cherokee Indian. My Irish ancestors came to the United States after the potato famine of the 1800"s. They had to work on building the railroad across the United States for extremely low wages and treated horrible just like all other imagents have been treated throughout history in the United States. Heavens knows how horrible that they have treated the Native Americans of which I am 50%. Our supposed great country is not as great as it portrays itself to be.

[@southernpanda33]

Amen, brother. They treated the Cherokee, and all native Americans, worse than the immigrants. I’m part Cherokee and they were treated like animals by the Americans that came after.

[@michaelmccarthy4077]

While soy production is concentrated, and full fields are grown of soy, it is not one singular variety that is produced. The US production ranges from Minnesota down through to Alabama and Georgia. Different varieties grow better in the different areas. In states like Iowa, one type may grow well in the north of the state while another grows better in the south.

[@cincin4515]

Fun fact. Most of the worlds food comes from small concentrated regions. Most of the planet is unsuitable for cropping or irrigation.

[@michaeljones9952]

I was thinking about a video I watched sometime ago, may have been yours or chubbymeu if i got his name right. It was about a family who had their potatoes stored in the basement, and the 1st family member goes down to gather some but doesn't return and the 2nd member does, only to succumb to the same fate with several others following to see what's happening, and it turned out to be the toxic gas fumes that built up from the rotting potatoes. So those that went down to basement died from the fumes, I would assume that there was no ventilation in there and the build of gas very powerful and overwhelming. What a sad tragic case.

[@johnrambo4245]

Ain't nobody eating 5kg/11bs of potatoes every day 😂

[@ryanbauer3680]

I remember a commercial from around I want to say the mid or late 2000s that said American Olympic gold medalist swimmer Michael Phelps consumed something like 5000 to 9000 calories a day and showed off a huge spread of food to give an idea of how much that was. Considering all the training he'd be doing for the games, that shouldn't be surprising. Now imagine using that amount of calories damn near every single day, just to survive. No going to the store to pick a weeks worth of groceries, no door dash or grab hub, no convenience on the corner to pick up a bag of chips and some little Debbie cakes. Anything you needed to eat you had to grow yourself. And growing food is back breaking work, especially prior to industrial farming. You work hard enough and only have one stable food source, you will eat 11lbs of it a day and not care.

[@TJ_Razer]

This came out as soon as I started eating them😭

[@Manza_Ruby]

Lmfao💀

[@TJ_Razer]

​@@Manza_RubyFr😭