For this challenge, I submit the monument to a man who has affected all of our lives: Antoine-Augustin Parmentier a Frenchman who lived from 1737 to 1813.
The potato, a tuber that we now consume throughout the world, was introduced to Europe in 1640. However, it was only fed to animals because it was deemed not fit for humans. It was even rumored to cause leprosy, and the French Parliament at one time forbid its cultivation.
Parmentier spared no effort to persuade the world that the potato is perfectly edible and could indeed be used to stave off widespread famine when other crops failed. He eventually succeeded, and today when “parmentier” is used to describe a dish, it means that it contains potatoes!
I found this monument in his honor in the town of Neuilly, a suburb of Paris.
This statue was in front of the Town Hall (Mairie) of Neuilly.
Town Hall of Neuilly
neihtn 
small world: I lived for several years just next to Neuilly… 🙂 vive la France! 🙂
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And vive la pomme de terre 🙂
Thank you for visiting this blog.
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Nice take on the Monument theme! You had me going there for a minute. 🙂 It’s hard to argue with Mr. Potato Head. 🙂 I like them.
Hey, what’s happening to the town hall? It looks like it’s sinking into the ground. 🙂
You’re welcome to come and see what my take on the theme is:
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Thank you, Cris. Town hall was sinking into the ground thanks to my wide-angle lens. 🙂
I checked out your answer to the challenge. That’s a nice monument with some good history.
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LOL I see. I miss having a wide-angle lens. I had my entire SLR camera outfit stolen by some druggies when I lived in Iowa about ten years back. All I’ve been able to afford since then was a $200 point-and-shoot, from which all my photos on this blog were taken.
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Check out this one:
http://www.photographyblog.com/reviews/canon_powershot_sx50_hs_review/comments/
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Thanks. What I’m hoping for is that a Canon 602D dSLR will fall out of the sky and land in my hands. I have a Canon PowerShot SX110. It has a 10x optical zoom, plus a digital zoom on top of that, but, alas, no real wide angle zoom. I appreciate the link. Thanks again. 🙂
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I did no this part of the history. Thanks, Neihtn!
Gorgeous photos.
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Thanks, Amy.
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Ooop, did not know…
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Beautiful
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Thanks!
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When you think of all those who consume crisps and fries, Hien … the mind boggles. 🙂
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Yes, M.R. I always thought potatoes were like wheat, rice, corn, and did not know that Parmentier had to fight for its acceptance.
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Nor I. I had no idea that it was considered an animal food … You so often provide these little snippets ! 🙂
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So magnificent !!! Most interesting Monument and tribute ! I had no idea about the story behind it. Thanks for sharing with us,dear friend 🙂 Enjoy your day (◠‿◠✿)
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Isn’t it amazing that more monuments have not been built for this man?
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Interesting info about the lowly potato.
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Indeed, and potatoes eventually saved entire population from dying of hunger.
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