Hello, Smarty Pants.
As you may be able to tell, I'm in a fancy new French restaurant that just opened here in Smartyville.
I hope you're hungry.
I know I am. So, where's the waiter with my food?
Ahem. I am here with your dinner, Mr.
Narayton. Ah, that's sibocaux, Francois.
Ooh, it's in one of those fancy dishes with a lid.
I'm so excited, I can hardly wait.
Bon appetit. Thanks, I...
Uh, what's this? It's your meal, Monsieur.
It's a huge plate of French fries.
What are you saying?
You don't like le frite?
No, no, no, no, no, no, no.
I actually love French fries.
These are delicious.
But I ordered the beef bourjean wine.
I didn't ask for French fries, though it's hard to stop eating these.
Uh -huh, galson, more French fries for Monsieur Narayton.
Wait, I didn't say...
Bon appetit. Hold on, Francois.
You just gave me five more plates of French fries.
Where is my actual main course?
Ah, perhaps you would like some curly fries, yes?
What? No, I don't need more fries.
Although, hm, these are so good.
I was just hoping for some more flavors.
Ah, if it is more flavors, you desire, this is no problem.
Oh, good. Galson, bring the cart.
Ooh, I wonder what this is.
Could be a salad, or some meat, or dessert, or...
Ah, more French fries.
Voila. We have les spicy, le garlic, le chili cheese frites, bon appetit.
Hold on, hold on. Why is it that all you have is French fries?
This is a French restaurant, no?
Yes, but French restaurants serve more than just French fries.
Would you like to try our toast or dressing?
No. What I wanna know is, why are you so obsessed with fries?
Especially since French fries might not even come from France!
Oh, oh, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la.
That cannot be. I'm sorry, but it's true.
Smarty pants, if the French didn't invent the French fry, where did it come from?
Why are they called French fries anyway?
What makes them taste so good?
French fries! And where is the best place to make French fries?
Here's a hint, it's not on Earth.
It's time for another whiff of history.
And science on Who smarted?
Who smarted? Who smart?
Is it you, is it me, is it science or history?
Listen up! Everyone, we've been smarted.
Lots of fun on who smarted.
So, smarty pants, I don't know how often you eat in fancy French restaurants, however, I'm guessing you may have had French fries on your plate at least once or twice this month.
Perhaps more than once this week?
These days, you can get fries practically anywhere at ballparks, sit -down restaurants, grocery freezers, and of course, fast food spots like McDonald's.
Yep, French fries are popular all around the world, but can you guess where people enjoy French fries the most?
Is it A, France, B, Belgium, C, the United States, or D, Canada?
If you said C, the United States, that's a really good guess.
By some estimates, the average American eats enough fries to equal 85 large servings at McDonald's every year.
That's about 29 pounds or 13 kilograms of French fries.
But while I said the United States is a good guess, it's not the country where people eat the most French fries.
Huh? The champion of fries is actually B, Belgium.
For every basket of fries an American eats, a Belgian eats one third more.
Nom, nom, nom, nom, nom.
In fact, Belgium is home to the world's one and only museum dedicated to French fries.
Over there, as in many parts of the world, fries are called frites.
And for some odd reason, Belgium, not France, just may be home to the name French fries.
Huh? You see, American soldiers stationed in Belgium apparently called them that about 100 years ago during World War I.
Sir, the troops are ready to advance.
Should we give the orders?
Not now, soldier. Can't you see I'm eating?
But you've been eating for three days, Sarge.
That's right, I'm trying to figure out what to call these delicious potato strips.
The locals have fried up for us.
Why not call them Belgian fries, sir?
Why would I call them that?
Simply because we're in Belgium?
I had waffles here this morning.
Does that mean I need to call those Belgian waffles too?
Well, actually. Listen up, soldier, I've got an idea.
What language do they speak here?
You don't know, sir.
We've been stationed here for months.
Just answer the question.
What language do they speak here?
Belgish? Belgianese?
No, sir, those are not languages, sir.
The people here speak French.
Ha! In that case, we'll call them French fries.
You want some? Oh, I would love a French fry, sir.
Good. They're selling them in a little village just down the road.
Oh, and pick me up another basket of fries while you're there.
Nom, nom, nom, nom, nom.
As you can imagine, many people in Belgium don't like to name French fries because it makes people think they are invented in France.
Mm. But, smarty pants, where were French fries actually invented?
Was it France or Belgium or even Spain?
The truth is, nobody knows for sure.
Some historians say fries were invented in Belgium during the late 1600s, when a river froze over, preventing people from catching fish for frying.
Legend has it they fried potatoes instead, but other historians say that can't be, since potatoes weren't even introduced to the region until some 50 years later.
Others say the French actually did invent the fry.
Potatoes had become very popular there in the late 1700s, and some say the fry was invented by a push -cart vendor in Paris.
Bonjour, mon amis. Would you like some fries?
Oh, merci. As much as the French want you to believe that story, there's no evidence to back it up.
For all we know, the Spanish could have invented the French fry.
After all, the Spanish were the first to bring potatoes from the Americas back to Europe, and they were known to fry things in oil.
So, maybe French fries are actually a Spanish surprise, but can you guess what fry -loving country the Spanish controlled during this time?
That's right, Belgium.
So, who knows who really invented the fry?
One thing we do know is somehow fries existed by the 1800s, and one of America's founding fathers is credited with bringing them back to the United States.
Can you guess who it was?
Was it A, Thomas Jefferson, B, Alexander Hamilton, C, Benjamin Franklin, or D, John Adams?
If you guessed A, Thomas Jefferson, you're right.
But Jefferson didn't create the modern French fry craze.
That happened during the last 100 years or so, as fast food restaurants sprouted up all over the world, serving billions of delicious fries.
But what makes French fries so irresistible, and why is the best place to make a fry on another planet?
We'll answer those questions right after this quick break.
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So smarty pants, as you know, french fries are made from potatoes and potatoes are vegetables and vegetables are healthy.
So by the transitive property, french fries must be healthy, right?
Wrong. Sadly, fries aren't very healthy at all.
While a regular potato can give you energy, has no fat and is low in calories and salt, a serving of french fries is loaded with calories, fat, and a ton of salt.
All things that in excess can negatively affect your health.
They even contain sugar too.
So french fries might taste delicious but they're not very nutritious.
With that in mind, enjoy them as a fun treat every now and then but not with every meal.
Ah, but Monsieur, who could resist such a tasty treat?
That's definitely a challenge.
Fries make the perfect side dish and often you'll crave a fry the moment you walk into a restaurant like McDonald's.
French fries. Smarty pants, true or false?
The thing that makes you crave fries the most is that hot potato smell.
The answer is false.
But that was a bit of a trick question.
The smell of fries do indeed make you crave them and scientists say about 90 % of taste comes from how a food smells.
But that's not potatoes you're smelling at Mickey D's, it's oil and beef.
Years ago, McDonald's would fry their potatoes in beef fat which would smell delicious but is very unhealthy.
As people became more concerned about their diets, McDonald's switched to healthier vegetable oil but added a beef flavoring made with milk and wheat to keep that irresistible smell.
Ah. What's more, this flavoring is known to slow your brain's ability to realize you're full which is why some people can eat a huge mountain of fries.
Nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom.
And the rest of the flavors get your brain to want more.
French fries. As I mentioned earlier, fries contain fat, salt and sugar and that combination makes your brain release dopamine, a chemical that leads to happiness and addiction.
So eating fries can make you feel good even if they're not good for you.
Ah, French fries go great with my meat cake.
And then there's the crunch.
Just like with potato chips.
Your body enjoys the sound and feel of fries when you eat them.
And fry makers have found a way to get that perfect crunch.
Smarty pants, can you guess how they do it?
Is it through A, the frying process, B, the types of potatoes used, or C, special crunch making ingredients?
Ah, allow me to answer this one.
It is A, the frying process to get the perfect crisp you don't fry once but twice.
The first fry is done with low heat and it creates a gel around the outside of the potato strip.
Then a second fry at high heat turns that gel into a thick crispy crust that's oh, so good.
But that's not all.
Surprisingly, gravity seems to impact crispiness.
Several years ago, scientists from Greece used a deep fryer and a spinning centrifuge to create different strengths of gravity as they made French fries.
So do you think stronger or weaker gravity makes crispier fries?
The answer is they found that the stronger the gravity, the crispier the fries.
And the absolute best fries were made at about three times the earth's gravity.
Whoa. Any guess which planet has three times earth's gravity?
Did you say Jupiter?
That's right. But while in theory, Jupiter may be home to the best fries in the solar system, you're not gonna find him there anytime soon.
Jupiter's self is good for fries, bad for French restaurants.
Yep, you're just gonna have to settle for fries here on earth.
Around the world, people enjoy fries in their own unique ways.
Americans like theirs with tomato ketchup, while the French prefer mustard.
People in Belgium eat theirs with mayonnaise, but so do folks in the American South.
Fries are served with vinegar in the United Kingdom, cheese curds and gravy in Canada.
Hey, how about we get some poutine, eh?
And curry, or soy sauce, in Japan.
In Malaysia, you can order fries with chili sauce.
And in the Philippines, you might enjoy them with something called banana ketchup.
Ooh. So while they still may be called French, fries today belong to many different cultures.
Ah, monsieur, your beef beaurent.
Actually, I'll just have some more fries, please.
Whistling Nom, nom, nom, nom, nom.
A big shout out to Brooks in San Francisco, California.
Thanks so much for smarting with us.
We love that you love who's smarted because it's a little silly and tells you about science and history.
That's exactly what we're going for, smarty pants.
Thanks, Brooks. This episode, French fries, was written by Dave Bodry and voiced by Brandon Bayless, Jason Williams, Adam Tex Davis, Max Kamaski and Jerry Kolber, technical direction and sound design by Josh Hahn.
Who Smarted is recorded and mixed at The Relic Room Studios.
Our associate producer is Max Kamaski.
The theme song is by Brian Suarez with lyrics written and performed by Adam Tex Davis.
Who Smarted was created and produced by Adam Tex Davis and Jerry Kolber.
This has been an Atomic Entertainment production.
Who Smarted.
