A brief history of spuds. (potatoes) (Science and Technology)
Economist (US), The, October, 1990
WHY are potatoes called spuds? Rumour has it that a Society for the Prevention of an Unwholesome Diet has something to do with it. The early English word for a small digging implement-which just happens to be "spud"-may be a better bet, but potatoes were, indeed, thought to be poisonous (as were their relatives, tomatoes and green peppers) when they first came to Europe from the new world.
As it happens, all three vegetables belong to the same plant family as deadly nightshade and another noxious weed, tobacco. Petunias, too, are members of this family, and since potato blooms look a great deal like petunias, Marie Antoinette had them grown at Versailles to wear in her hair.
Fortunately for humanity, AntoineAuguste Parmentier, a French pharmacist of...
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