Doug (tuber)

Doug, also known as Dug,[1] is a tuber in the Cucurbitaceae family that was grown by Colin and Donna Craig-Brown near Hamilton in New Zealand.[2] It weighed roughly 17.4 pounds (7.9 kg) and was originally thought to be the largest potato by the couple, 6.4 pounds (2.9 kg) heavier than the largest recorded potato at the time, which weighed 11 pounds (5.0 kg), until genetic testing conducted by Plant & Food Research confirmed otherwise.

Background

On 30 August 2021, while Colin and Donna Craig-Brown were weeding their garden near Hamilton, New Zealand, Colin's hoe struck a tuber beneath the surface. While the couple dug around it, Colin initially thought that it was a fungal growth. After extracting the tuber with a garden fork,[3] Colin scratched the skin, tasted it and assumed it was a potato. After its discovery, the couple weighed the tuber and named it Doug, after the word dug. His discovery was verified by several gardening experts.[4] Doug grew in popularity around the farm and on Facebook, where the couple occasionally posted photographs of it.[5][6] Colin planned to turn it into vodka once its popularity dies down.[7] In an appearance on This Morning in February 2022, Colin said that he originally thought it was a sweet potato, but decided otherwise after realising its size.[8]

After the Craig-Browns' friends suggested that they submit Doug, which was being kept in the freezer at the time, to Guinness World Records,[9] the couple submitted an application for the record of the world's "largest potato". After the submission, doubts emerged about whether Doug was in fact a potato. In March 2022, the application was declined after genetic testing conducted by Plant & Food Research confirmed that it was the "tuber of a type of gourd".[4][10] Chris Claridge, who assisted in the genetic testing, explained that the way in which the tuber grew was the result of a possible infection.[11]

References
  1. Bateman, Charlotte (16 March 2022). "World's heaviest potato contender in New Zealand turns out to be a gourd, Guinness World Records finds". Sky News. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  2. Perry, Nick (16 March 2022). "Nice try but no potato for New Zealand couple's giant find". Associated Press. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  3. Page, Sydney (8 November 2021). "A couple stumbled upon a 17-pound potato in their garden. It's probably the biggest spud in the world". The Washington Post. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  4. Page, Sydney (19 March 2022). "They thought they unearthed the world's largest potato. It turned out not to be a potato at all". The Washington Post. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  5. "Doug the ugly New Zealand potato could be world's biggest". The Independent. 4 November 2021. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  6. "'Doug' the mutant spud could be world's heaviest potato at nearly 8kg". Sky News. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  7. Ravindran, Jeevan (5 November 2021). "Is this the world's heaviest potato? New Zealand couple accidentally grow a titanic tuber". CNN. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  8. Javed, Saman (16 March 2022). "World's largest potato is actually a tuber, says Guinness World Records". The Independent. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  9. McCarter, Reid (17 March 2022). "That huge potato named Doug isn't actually a potato after all". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  10. Calfas, Jennifer (16 March 2022). "It Turns Out the World's Largest Potato Is Actually a Gourd, Guinness World Records Says". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  11. Frost, Natasha (17 March 2022). "It Could've Been the World's Largest Potato, if Only It Were a Potato". The New York Times. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
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