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Renaissance Man Thomas Harriot was noted for many things - devising the theory of refraction, creating mathematical symbols including \u2018greater than\u2019 and \u2018lesser than\u2019, and being the first person to draw the Moon through a telescope. But the contribution for which he\u2019s most remembered is bringing back the potato to Britain - an event commonly credited to 3rd December, 1586.\nOn first spotting the vegetable on Roanoke Island, he wrote: \u2018They are a kind of roots of round form, some of the bigness of walnuts, some far greater, which are found in moist & marish grounds growing many together one by another in ropes, or as though they were fastened with a string. Being boiled or sodden they are very good meate.\u2019\nIn this episode, Arion, Olly and Rebecca ask what a \u2018versifier\u2019 is; come up with a new name for Accountancy; and discover the bizarre means by which Antoine-Augustin Parmentier popularised spuds in France\u2026\nFurther Reading:\n\u2022 \u2018The history of the potato: The humble vegetable that changed the world\u2019 (Sky HISTORY): https://www.history.co.uk/articles/the-history-of-the-potato-the-humble-vegetable-that-changed-the-world\n\u2022 \u2018Thomas Harriot (1560 - 1621) - Biography\u2019 (MacTutor History of Mathematics, St Andrews University): https://mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Harriot/\n\u2022 \u2018History through the eyes of the potato\u2019 (Leo Bear-McGuinness, TEDx 2015): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xROmDsULcLE\nFor bonus material and to support the show, visit\xa0Patreon.com/Retrospectors\nWe'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts:\xa0podfollow.com/Retrospectors\nThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.\nTheme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.\nCopyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.\xa0\n#1500s #Food #Person #UK\n Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices