Latest / the Daily Quote - Positive Daily Inspiration and Motivational Quote of the Day / Terry Pratchett - The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people keep coming along and trying to put things in it

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Terry Pratchett - The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people keep coming along and trying to put things in it · the Daily Quote - Positive Daily Inspiration and Motivational Quote of the Day

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  Dot com Welcome to The Daily Quote, a podcast designed to
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  kick start your day in a positive way.
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  I'm your host, Andrew Mcgibbon for August 19th.
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  Today is National Potato Day, celebrating one of the world's
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  most beloved and versatile foods.
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  Whether you call them spuds, taters, or just plain potatoes,
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  these humble tubers have quietly become one of humanity's most
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  important crops. The potato has an incredible
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  history. Originally cultivated in the
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  Andes Mountains of South America over 8000 years ago by the Inca
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  people, potatoes were brought to Europe by Spanish conquistadors
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  in the 16th century. From there, they spread across
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  the globe and became a staple food and countless cultures.
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  Today, there are over 100 different varieties of potatoes
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  worldwide, and they're the 4th largest food crop on the planet
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  after rice, wheat, and corn. Not bad for something that was
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  once considered poisonous by Europeans who didn't know you
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  weren't supposed to eat the green parts.
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  What makes potatoes truly remarkable is their versatility.
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  You can bake them, fry them, mash them, boil them, roast
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  them, or turn them into chips, hash Browns, gnocchi, or French
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  fries. Their comfort food at its
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  finest. The reliable side dish that
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  makes almost any meal better. Which brings us to today's quote
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  from the brilliant author Terry Pratchett, who once said.
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  The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people
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  keep coming along and trying to put things in it.
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  Now, you might be wondering what Terry Pratchett's witty
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  observation has to do with potatoes, but bear with me.
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  There's a connection that's both surprising and profound.
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  Think about the potatoes journey through history.
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  When it first arrived in Europe, people were incredibly close
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  minded about this strange new food.
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  They thought it was poisonous, associated it with disease, and
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  refused to eat it. The French actually banned
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  potato cultivation for decades because they believed it caused
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  leprosy. But gradually, people began to
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  open their minds. They discovered that potatoes
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  were not only safe to eat, but incredibly nutritious and
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  filling. In fact, potatoes became so
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  important that when disease truck potato crops in Ireland in
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  the 1840s, it caused a devastating famine.
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  Pratchett's quote reminds us that having an open mind can be
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  challenging. We're constantly bombarded with
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  new information, new ideas, new foods to try, that sometimes
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  those things people keep trying to put in our open minds are
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  actually treasures in disguise. How many other opportunities,
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  ideas, or experiences have we dismissed too quickly because
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  they seem strange or unfamiliar at first glance?
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  When I was a kid, we had potatoes for dinner every night.
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  My mom is a good cook and she made all sorts of different
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  kinds of potatoes. I especially like her mashed
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  potatoes, and her scalloped potatoes are great too.
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  But when I moved out I took a break from potatoes for a while
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  and later my wife being from France got me hooked on
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  zucchini, which has become the potato in our family.
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  We have them all the time, either zucchini or green beans.
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  But recently I've been returning to the potato, and I love it.
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  Maybe not every day, though. So today, in honor of National
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  Potato Day, maybe consider what Terry Pratchett was really
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  getting at. That.
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  Keeping an open mind despite the challenges often leads to
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  discovering wonderful things we never knew we needed.
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  Whether it's trying a new variety of potato, a different
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  way of preparing them, or even just being open to unfamiliar
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  experiences in general, remember that some of life's greatest
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  pleasures come from the simple act of saying yes to something
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  new. That's going to do it for today.
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  I'm Andy McGivern, signing off for now, but I'll be back
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  tomorrow. Same pod time, same pod station
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  with another daily quote.