1 00:00:18,079 --> 00:00:23,099 The Adventure of The Wonderful Potato 2 00:00:25,179 --> 00:00:29,160 In the beginning, the big Motherpotato was laid. 3 00:00:29,359 --> 00:00:32,839 It was the sun! 4 00:00:37,939 --> 00:00:46,339 And the sun sprouted and grew tubers, and one of the tubers became Earth. 5 00:00:51,899 --> 00:01:00,979 In South America, high up in the Andes, the Motherpotato created a tuber in its own image. 6 00:01:01,799 --> 00:01:07,179 And it sprouted and grew tubers in the ground. 7 00:01:09,140 --> 00:01:13,239 And thus, the wonderful potato came to Earth! 8 00:01:23,420 --> 00:01:27,780 What's wonderful about that thing? It is edible! 9 00:01:28,780 --> 00:01:31,299 No no no, not the plant, it's poisonous! 10 00:01:31,739 --> 00:01:35,659 It's the tubers down in the ground that are edible. 11 00:01:44,019 --> 00:01:48,799 And if you leave one of them in the ground, 12 00:01:52,260 --> 00:01:57,700 then you can dig up 10 just a few months afterwards. 13 00:02:09,800 --> 00:02:15,980 The indians in the Andes are the first people to know the potato. 14 00:02:15,979 --> 00:02:19,979 They understand that it is a wonderful gift for them. 15 00:02:19,979 --> 00:02:25,739 And they praise the large Motherpotato in the sky. 16 00:02:33,340 --> 00:02:40,159 Through thousands of years, the Indians learn how to grow potatoes on large terraces in the mountains. 17 00:02:42,919 --> 00:02:49,099 They discover that it tastes great if they boil and roast it. 18 00:02:49,099 --> 00:02:51,219 Or mash it, for that matter. 19 00:02:51,259 --> 00:02:58,459 And that it keeps fresh for years if they press the water out of it and freezedry it. 20 00:03:02,639 --> 00:03:06,339 They make potato beer as well. 21 00:03:12,300 --> 00:03:16,560 Sometimes, they come across some useless chunks: 22 00:03:16,639 --> 00:03:18,519 Gold. 23 00:03:19,479 --> 00:03:25,039 It's not edible, but it shines like the great Motherpotato. 24 00:03:27,659 --> 00:03:33,340 As a thanksgiving for being well-fed each day, they build sun temples filled with gold. 25 00:03:34,979 --> 00:03:43,379 They call themselves the "Inca", and their king, "son of the sun". 26 00:03:44,099 --> 00:03:50,979 In the year 1532, the sun king is named Atahualpa. 27 00:03:51,379 --> 00:03:54,919 He could've been eating his potatoes for a lot of years, 28 00:03:55,080 --> 00:04:02,140 if just the rumour of all of his gold had not been so widely dispersed. 29 00:04:02,560 --> 00:04:06,699 On the other side of Earth sits the emperor of the half of Europe, 30 00:04:07,020 --> 00:04:08,500 Charles the V, 31 00:04:08,560 --> 00:04:10,879 who is in debt. 32 00:04:11,180 --> 00:04:17,740 So the rumours of the Inca and their gold is sweet music in his ears. 33 00:04:18,740 --> 00:04:28,920 Charles sends a bunch of conquistadors from Spain towards the Inca; Their leader is called "Francisco Pizarro" 34 00:04:29,540 --> 00:04:32,640 A reckless adventurer. 35 00:04:42,060 --> 00:04:44,939 The Spaniards are quickly to the point. 36 00:04:49,220 --> 00:04:57,280 They kill Atahualpa and most of his people and steal their gold. 37 00:04:57,699 --> 00:05:00,740 They can now return to Spain with pride. 38 00:05:02,779 --> 00:05:11,359 But wait, the Spaniards' chef, Carlos, needs something to fill the cauldrons on the long trip home. 39 00:05:11,779 --> 00:05:17,539 They plunder the Incas' storage of food where they, among other things, find the potato. 40 00:05:17,980 --> 00:05:20,879 The Spaniards have never seen anything like that before. 41 00:05:24,939 --> 00:05:29,060 Even though the taste is unfamiliar, 42 00:05:29,100 --> 00:05:32,100 Carlos decides to take them back home anyway, 43 00:05:32,240 --> 00:05:35,340 just to be sure. 44 00:05:35,959 --> 00:05:38,379 And now the trip home commences, 45 00:05:38,379 --> 00:05:41,019 with the cargo heavily loaded with Inca gold. 46 00:05:44,620 --> 00:05:47,800 Carlos is serving boiled, salted meat, 47 00:05:47,800 --> 00:05:51,879 and his new discovery; Potatoes. 48 00:05:52,199 --> 00:05:54,979 Most of the crew sticks to the meat, 49 00:05:54,980 --> 00:05:58,160 that's what they're used to. 50 00:05:58,360 --> 00:06:04,939 On the months long sea trip, the meat has trouble staying fresh, though. 51 00:06:08,759 --> 00:06:13,120 While the potatoes are doing just fine! 52 00:06:14,180 --> 00:06:17,720 Those that still deny eating potatoes, 53 00:06:17,720 --> 00:06:20,700 become sick with scurvy, 54 00:06:24,959 --> 00:06:28,459 and many of them dies. 55 00:06:28,579 --> 00:06:33,120 While those that eat their potatoes are thriving well! 56 00:06:33,639 --> 00:06:40,519 At this time, they are still unaware of the presence of the vital vitamin-C, 57 00:06:41,040 --> 00:06:46,720 but Carlos understands what amazing present the potato is. 58 00:06:51,300 --> 00:06:53,840 The ship returns to Spain, 59 00:07:01,519 --> 00:07:04,399 Charles takes all the gold, 60 00:07:04,860 --> 00:07:10,240 and Carlos gets what is left of the potatoes. 61 00:07:10,839 --> 00:07:17,599 Proudly, he returns home with the best he has found in the foreign, home to his wife. 62 00:07:24,660 --> 00:07:29,780 The potato has come to Europe. 63 00:07:32,620 --> 00:07:37,160 And here, it shows another wondrous ability; 64 00:07:41,560 --> 00:07:48,540 It can set roots nearly everywhere it is placed. 65 00:07:55,519 --> 00:08:01,379 Carlos tries to convince his breathren that the potato is absolutely fantastic! 66 00:08:01,660 --> 00:08:08,820 But no one can see the fantastic: "we've been growing all sorts of cereal for thousands of years, why not continue with that?" 67 00:08:10,920 --> 00:08:18,740 Carlos must once again take a job as a chef, and wanders around Europe with the Spanish army. 68 00:08:18,740 --> 00:08:25,379 Along the way, he preaches of the potato and its abilities, and puts a single potato in the ground here and there, 69 00:08:25,439 --> 00:08:28,439 but meets the same answer everywhere; 70 00:08:28,439 --> 00:08:31,019 "What's wonderful about that?" 71 00:08:34,700 --> 00:08:37,240 Carlos gives up. 72 00:08:41,259 --> 00:08:45,080 He goes to sea once more with his potatoes. 73 00:08:46,340 --> 00:08:57,840 In the year 1588, the Spanish fleet "The Invincible Armada" sails up North to conquer England. 74 00:09:01,179 --> 00:09:04,699 But the English fleet is waiting in ambush. 75 00:09:08,580 --> 00:09:11,040 It's a catastrophy! 76 00:09:11,059 --> 00:09:16,519 The Spanish tries to escape, directly into a horrible storm. 77 00:10:03,340 --> 00:10:07,720 And that is how the potato came to Ireland! 78 00:10:24,100 --> 00:10:28,139 The Irish are a very poor and starved people. 79 00:10:28,200 --> 00:10:30,660 Their land is controlled by Englishmen, 80 00:10:30,659 --> 00:10:32,259 *SPOOKY JUMPSCARE* 81 00:10:33,919 --> 00:10:37,620 who have been setting up large mansions, 82 00:10:37,620 --> 00:10:40,399 and made the Irish into poor peasants. 83 00:10:41,159 --> 00:10:45,419 The Irish loan small plots of land by the English, which they use to grow their cereal. 84 00:10:45,419 --> 00:10:50,559 But the resulting harvest is so small, that they have difficulty living off of it. 85 00:10:51,720 --> 00:10:58,320 Therefore, they see the great in everything edible. 86 00:11:02,559 --> 00:11:06,779 Carlos teaches the Irish the art of potato farming, 87 00:11:09,980 --> 00:11:15,159 and finally rests with his beloved tubers. 88 00:11:18,960 --> 00:11:22,560 The Irish realises that they can exploit their farmland better. 89 00:11:22,559 --> 00:11:26,919 Where they once grew cereal, they now grow potatotes. 90 00:11:30,639 --> 00:11:33,899 And the harvest is four times as large! 91 00:11:34,759 --> 00:11:38,139 The English realises as well, that they can exploit the Irish better. 92 00:11:38,340 --> 00:11:44,280 When one peasant gets four times as many crops on one plot... 93 00:11:44,580 --> 00:11:48,160 Then one peasant should be able to live with a quarter of a plot! 94 00:11:51,480 --> 00:11:56,399 The poor Irishmen are now relying completely on the potato. 95 00:12:12,840 --> 00:12:17,139 The rest of Europe is still sceptical when it comes to the potato. 96 00:12:17,659 --> 00:12:20,439 It's not mentioned in the Bible, 97 00:12:20,860 --> 00:12:24,580 Alas, it is not accepted by God. 98 00:12:27,240 --> 00:12:32,539 It is said, that which grows above the ground belongs to God and the living, 99 00:12:33,899 --> 00:12:41,459 while that which grows beneath the ground belongs to the Devil and his underground Hell. 100 00:12:48,000 --> 00:12:55,120 In 1618, Hell is once again present on the surface. 101 00:12:55,720 --> 00:13:00,019 The Thirty Years War breaks out in Europe. 102 00:13:00,580 --> 00:13:04,800 The peasants' cereal farms are burned down; 103 00:13:06,580 --> 00:13:10,440 The potato fields as well. 104 00:13:10,639 --> 00:13:13,899 But the potatoes have taken no harm from the fire. 105 00:13:13,980 --> 00:13:17,080 They are lying nice and safely beneath the ground, 106 00:13:17,080 --> 00:13:21,160 like an emergency storage of food for the survivors. 107 00:13:23,179 --> 00:13:29,500 And it is in war and need, that the human begins to love the potato. 108 00:13:30,539 --> 00:13:41,139 A big creator of war and need is in 1740 the king of Prussia, Frederick the Great. 109 00:13:41,240 --> 00:13:45,000 He sees the potato as a saviour for his starving people. 110 00:13:46,100 --> 00:13:51,360 He knows that they are sceptical, but he gets his way. 111 00:13:59,820 --> 00:14:03,020 Not everyone needs to be force-fed, though. 112 00:14:05,259 --> 00:14:10,919 The french officer and scientist, Parmentier, is a war prisoner of Frederick the Great. 113 00:14:12,059 --> 00:14:15,119 Here he learns how to love the potato; 114 00:14:15,299 --> 00:14:18,379 It's the only thing that the prison serves. 115 00:14:31,519 --> 00:14:40,460 Sent back to France, Parmentier tries to convince the poor peasants to the great nutritional values of the potato. 116 00:14:42,440 --> 00:14:49,300 But realises that he has to be more cunning. 117 00:14:52,419 --> 00:14:59,759 He introduces the potato as the center of a feast for the king, Louis the XVI. 118 00:15:01,440 --> 00:15:07,520 The queen, Marie-Antoinette, is gifted a bouquet of the beautiful potato plant's flowers. 119 00:15:11,220 --> 00:15:15,639 A potato doesn't go any higher than that! 120 00:15:16,919 --> 00:15:23,379 From now on, it's a luxury to eat potatoes in France. 121 00:15:26,799 --> 00:15:33,199 To make it even more precious, Parmentier sets up a fence and guards at the potato farms. 122 00:15:34,259 --> 00:15:42,200 However, the guard is sent home at night, and everything happens according to Parmentier's plan. 123 00:15:44,000 --> 00:15:51,279 Through cunning and cleverness, fine potatoes now grow in poor people's gardens. 124 00:15:55,019 --> 00:16:02,220 At the same time in the Nordic Countries, the potato becomes well known with the natives. 125 00:16:02,879 --> 00:16:07,659 It is discovered that the potato is great at producing aquavit. 126 00:16:21,159 --> 00:16:24,059 More death and suffering is on its way, though. 127 00:16:24,620 --> 00:16:30,600 In 1804, Napoleon Bonaparte becomes emperor of France. 128 00:16:31,299 --> 00:16:37,859 He decides to go to war with the whole of Europe at the same time. 129 00:16:43,960 --> 00:16:51,340 Hunger follows in the tracks of the war, and the potato becomes vital. 130 00:16:54,559 --> 00:16:58,519 In 1815 Napoleon is totally defeated, 131 00:16:58,879 --> 00:17:06,680 and the only real victor left on the battlefield is the potato. 132 00:17:07,799 --> 00:17:12,139 The potato has conquered Europe. 133 00:17:12,400 --> 00:17:22,040 From being deemed a worthless piece of trash, the potato is now the most important food for millions of people. 134 00:17:31,940 --> 00:17:37,279 In 1845 is the Irish potato harvest looking excellent. 135 00:17:47,460 --> 00:17:49,519 But what's that now? 136 00:17:59,059 --> 00:18:03,159 All the potatoes are rotten! 137 00:18:05,880 --> 00:18:09,180 They are inedible! 138 00:18:12,740 --> 00:18:21,900 Everywhere in Ireland, all the potatoes are rotting at the speed of light, and there's nothing they can do. 139 00:18:23,440 --> 00:18:30,259 A horrible and until now unknown potato sickness is spreading. 140 00:18:33,559 --> 00:18:38,059 The potato pest is the reason for hunger and death. 141 00:18:46,119 --> 00:18:52,899 The Irish that are living almost exclusively off of potatoes are the ones experiencing the hardest impact. 142 00:18:53,099 --> 00:18:59,299 From 1845 to 1847 over 1 million people die of starvation. 143 00:19:11,759 --> 00:19:17,220 The Grim Reaper wanders through Europe. 144 00:19:22,160 --> 00:19:27,100 Some people believe that it is God's punishment against the sinful people, 145 00:19:27,099 --> 00:19:32,179 while others are intensively trying to cure the sick potato. 146 00:19:35,160 --> 00:19:40,940 They find out that the sickness is caused by a quickly growing mold, 147 00:19:41,920 --> 00:19:45,080 but they are helpless to stop it. 148 00:19:46,720 --> 00:19:54,400 When everything looks darkest, it is the potato itself that takes up the fight. 149 00:19:56,819 --> 00:20:04,240 The best specimens slowly build up resistance against the mold. 150 00:20:11,900 --> 00:20:17,160 The potato has defeated the sickness! 151 00:20:26,660 --> 00:20:34,000 In the following 100 years, until our time, the potato wanders all around the globe, fulfilling its success. 152 00:20:39,839 --> 00:20:46,319 The potato has now become yours, and mine, and the whole world's gold nugget.