UK: A potato shaped like a duck?

If potatoes could fly they would look like this astonishing spud. Student Emily Gaffney was gobsmacked when she spotted the freaky tuber in her bag of veg. The 21-year-old couldn’t decide if the unusual chip-fodder looked more like a puffin or a duck – but she settled on the latter and has dubbed it Bill. And instead of mashing up the silly spud, Emily decided to keep it as it is. She said: “I was unpacking my shopping and when I saw the shape of it I couldn’t believe my eyes. “It looks exactly like a little duck, the resemblance is uncanny.

“The potato has wings, a breast and beak exactly like a duck – the only thing it is missing is a pair of webbed feet.” Fashion student Emily, of Cathays, Cardiff, bought her new pet potato from a local fruit and veg shop in the student area of the Welsh capital. She said: “I’ve become quite attached to him, I couldn’t imagine putting him on my dinner plate now. “My friends have made jokes saying I should have it beaked – but I tell them it would taste fowl.”

Doctors have a name for the tendency to see the shapes of animals or humans in inanimate objects like clouds or vegetables – it’s called Pareidolia. Most unusually shaped vegetables are caused by inconsistencies in the soil which causes the veg to grow into a weird shape. But farmers in Japan worked out how to do it on purpose by growing fruit in glass boxes. Square, stackable watermelons now sell for twice the price of their round counterparts.

Source: walesonline.co.uk