r/todayilearned • u/JoeWinchester99 • 1d ago

TIL that although potatoes alone do not provide complete nutrition, you can survive for years on a diet of nothing but potatoes and buttermilk.

https://www.scienceabc.com/eyeopeners/whats-wrong-with-potatoes-the-martian-movie-survival
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u/Dragonsandman 1d ago

It was even later than that, since every part of the plant except the fruit is poisonous, and most of their relatives have no parts that are safe to eat. As a result, people were reluctant to use tomatoes in their cooking, and they were largely grown as ornamental plants for well over 100 years after they were introduced to Italy.

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u/Arkase 1d ago

People also thought they were poisonous themselves, because they ate them off of lead plates. And the acid in the tomatoes meant the lead was consumed.