Meredith Sayles Hughes

Potato Heads Meredith Sayles Hughes

How many veggies have become cultural icons? Have inspired toys, games and gear? Have featured in several Hollywood smash hit flicks? Just one. The powerful potato. Take a good look at a potato sometime. We identify with that knobbly, down home familiarity, that "potato head" there for all to see. Eyes, eyebrows, a top and a bottom. Well over 1000 years ago, the native people of the Andes, the Chimu, were molding potato faces into their ceremonial clay pots. In 2016 Linda, a character in an episode of the animated cartoon series, Bob's Burgers, zeroed in on a potato that looked just like her long gone dad. And she wouldn't let go. Why? Because we are the potato, the potato is us, whether pink, white, tan, yellow or brown. We invite you to explore this illustrated history of the veggie that looks like us. The potato head.