Unveiling the Predictive Abilities Hidden in Potatoes

One fun fact that is relatively lesser-known originates from ecology, explicitly involving an unorthodox method of weather prediction utilizing potatoes. In 1928, George C. Parker Bidder, a British marine biologist and the president of Marine Biological Association (MBA), used potatoes to predict ocean currents and patterns which assist in predicting future weather conditions. Bidder was interested in studying how larvae and other minor creatures moved around the ocean, so he devised an innovative idea: potato messages. He drilled holes into raw potatoes and placed a postcard inside each hole; these potatoes were then thrown into the sea from various spots. Each postcard carried a message that whoever found it should record where they found it and send it back to the MBA. The experiment began in 1928 and lasted for several years, during which over a thousand such 'potato messages' were dispersed at sea. Surprisingly enough, many of them made their way back to the MBA. By examining where each potato was initially launched and subsequently discovered, Bidder could deduce vital information about ocean currents, which are instrumental in long-term forecasting models still employed today. This experiment can be viewed as an early example of a drift bottle study, a technique scientists use to understand currents by tracking the voyages of specially designed bottles tossed into the water. Although widely unrecognized within mainstream scientific knowledge or often overlooked in favor of technologically advanced experiments or traditionally accepted methods, this instance proves how seemingly simple things like potatoes can lead us toward noteworthy scientific revelations. Further details on George Parker Bidder's potato-based experiments can be obtained from scientific accounts archived by the Marine Biological Association UK.