DNA Test Proved Doug the World’s Largest Potato Was a Lie
The results are in, and a New Zealand couple is devastated to learn that their Guinness Book of World Records-sized potato, named Doug, is not a potato at all.
The couple unearthed Doug while digging around on their small farm near Hamilton, and thanks to scientific testing, it turns out Doug is actually a gourd, not a potato.
Doug weighed in at a hearty 17.4 pounds, roughly enough to make 58 large McDonald’s French fry orders. Thought to be a shoo-in for the Guinness Book of World Records, Collin Craig-Brown and his wife Donna spent countless hours filing paperwork and submitting samples of their find to Guinness for world record consideration.
Last week, Guinness reached out with the sad news.
According to the Associated Press, the Craig-Brown family received an email that read:
Dear Colin,
Sadly the specimen is not a potato and is, in fact, the tuber of a type of gourd. For this reason, we do unfortunately have to disqualify the application.
While the DNA testing of their supposed spud may have smashed some dreams, the couple remains hopeful for Doug’s future.
They keep him in their freezer and have included him as part of their family.
“I say ‘gidday’ to him every time I pull out some sausages. He’s a cool character,” Craig-Brown said. “Whenever the grandchildren come round, they say, ‘Can we see Doug?’”
“Doug is the destroyer from Down Under,” Craig-Brown added. “He is the world’s biggest not-a-potato.”
The false potato has been such a fun experience for his family that Craig-Brown said he is not done yet with chasing the potato record, and he has plans to try and deliberately grow a record-breaking monster next season.
The nameless competitor holding the title as the current Guinness World Record for heaviest potato weighed in at 10.9 pounds and was found by vegetable power grower Peter Glazebrook.