A potato in New Zealand, which has been lovingly named "Doug" by its owners, could be the world's largest spud ever discovered. The Guinness World Records has yet to declare the potato as the world's largest officially, but all indications show that it could very well be the largest ever found.
The potato was discovered by New Zealand residents Colin and Donna Craig-Brown in their garden. Colin was reportedly weeding their garden before his hoe struck something huge underground.
The couple later began digging around the object, which they initially thought was some kind of fungal growth. Colin later pried it with a garden fork and then tasted some of its skin and flesh before discovering it was a potato.
The "ugly" and "mutant-looking" potato immediately became something of a celebrity in the small farming town near Hamilton. The couple named the potato "Doug." Neighbors have since been flocking to the couple's home to see the weird-looking spud.
"We put a hat on him. We put him on Facebook, taking him for a walk, giving him some sunshine. It's all a bit of fun. It's amazing what entertains people," the couple said.
Colin built a small cart to tow the potato around. They then weighed the potato using an old scale and found it to be around 7.9 kilograms - roughly the weight of two sacks of regular potatoes. The couple then brought the potato to a local farming store, where it was weighed again. This time the potato was found to weigh 7.8 kilograms.
The largest potato currently listed on the Guinness World Record was discovered in 2011. The potato was found in the UK and weighed just under 5 kilograms. The couple said they have already contacted the Guinness World Records, and they are now waiting for a reply.
Guinness said they still need to inspect the potato personally before it can be declared the world's largest. For now, the potato from the UK still remains as the current record-holder.
Colin said he didn't use any secret gardening techniques or chemicals to grow his potatoes. He said he used cow manure and straw for all of his produce, which include potatoes and cucumbers. Colin said it remains a mystery to him how Doug could have grown so large.
