Doug (tuber)
{{Short description|Individual tuber in the Cucurbitaceae family}}{{Infobox tree
| name = Doug (tuber)
| location = Hamilton
| species = Cucurbitaceae
| binomial = nominated to Guinness World Records as the world's largest potato before genetic testing confirmed it was not actually a potato
| weight = {{convert|7.9|kg}}
}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2022}}
Doug, also known as Dug,{{cite news|last1=Bateman|first1=Charlotte|title=World's heaviest potato contender in New Zealand turns out to be a gourd, Guinness World Records finds|url=https://news.sky.com/story/new-zealand-potato-the-size-of-a-dog-turns-out-to-be-a-spud-like-plant-guinness-world-records-finds-12567595|access-date=17 March 2022|work=Sky News|date=16 March 2022|language=en|archive-date=27 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220427175837/https://news.sky.com/story/new-zealand-potato-the-size-of-a-dog-turns-out-to-be-a-spud-like-plant-guinness-world-records-finds-12567595|url-status=live}} is a tuber in the Cucurbitaceae family that was grown by Colin and Donna Craig-Brown near Hamilton in New Zealand.{{cite news|last1=Perry|first1=Nick|title=Nice try but no potato for New Zealand couple's giant find|url=https://apnews.com/article/worlds-largest-potato-doug-a440afd3c656018c585078ed3ac18970|access-date=17 March 2022|work=Associated Press|date=16 March 2022|language=en|archive-date=5 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220405223639/https://apnews.com/article/worlds-largest-potato-doug-a440afd3c656018c585078ed3ac18970|url-status=live}} Weighing roughly 7.9 kg, it was thought to be the largest potato on record for a period after its discovery, topping the 5 kg record holder at the time. However, genetic testing revealed that Doug is not, in fact, a potato.
Background
On 30 August 2021, while the Craig-Browns were weeding their garden near Hamilton, Colin's hoe struck what he initially thought was a fungal growth or a sweet potato beneath the surface; he discarded these ideas after realising the object's size.{{cite news|last1=Javed|first1=Saman|title=World's largest potato is actually a tuber, says Guinness World Records|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/giant-potato-guinness-world-records-tuber-b2037024.html|access-date=17 March 2022|work=The Independent|date=16 March 2022|language=en|archive-date=26 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220426185923/https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/giant-potato-guinness-world-records-tuber-b2037024.html|url-status=live}} The couple dug around the object. Colin extracted it with a garden fork,{{cite news|last1=Page|first1=Sydney|title=A couple stumbled upon a 17-pound potato in their garden. It's probably the biggest spud in the world.|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2021/11/08/largest-potato-guinness-book-garden|access-date=17 March 2022|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=8 November 2021|archive-date=17 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220317193106/https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2021/11/08/largest-potato-guinness-book-garden/|url-status=live}} scratched its skin, tasted it, and decided that it was a potato. The couple weighed it and named it Doug, after the word dug.
Doug grew in popularity locally and on Facebook, where the couple occasionally posted photographs of it.{{cite news|title=Doug the ugly New Zealand potato could be world's biggest|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/australasia/new-zealand-doug-ugly-potato-guinness-b1951180.html|access-date=17 March 2022|work=The Independent|date=4 November 2021|language=en|archive-date=14 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220414175212/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/australasia/new-zealand-doug-ugly-potato-guinness-b1951180.html|url-status=live}}{{cite news|title='Doug' the mutant spud could be world's heaviest potato at nearly 8kg|url=https://news.sky.com/story/doug-the-mutant-spud-could-be-worlds-heaviest-potato-at-nearly-8kg-12459635|access-date=17 March 2022|work=Sky News|language=en|archive-date=23 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220323164106/https://news.sky.com/story/doug-the-mutant-spud-could-be-worlds-heaviest-potato-at-nearly-8kg-12459635|url-status=live}} At the suggestion of friends, the Craig-Browns submitted an application for the tuber, which was being kept in a freezer at the time, to Guinness World Records,{{cite news|last1=McCarter|first1=Reid|title=That huge potato named Doug isn't actually a potato after all|url=https://www.avclub.com/doug-dug-the-giant-potato-gourd-tuber-1848666546|access-date=17 March 2022|work=The A.V. Club|date=17 March 2022|language=en-us|archive-date=12 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220412012738/https://www.avclub.com/doug-dug-the-giant-potato-gourd-tuber-1848666546|url-status=live}} in the category of largest potato. Doug was verified as being a potato by several gardening experts,{{cite news|last1=Page|first1=Sydney|title=They thought they unearthed the world's largest potato. It turned out not to be a potato at all.|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2022/03/19/worlds-largest-potato-guinness-record|access-date=19 March 2022|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=19 March 2022|archive-date=29 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220329044440/https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2022/03/19/worlds-largest-potato-guinness-record/|url-status=live}} but doubts persisted. In March 2022, the Craig-Browns' application was declined after genetic testing conducted by Plant & Food Research confirmed that Doug was the "tuber of a type of gourd".{{R|:TWPtuber}}{{cite news |last1=Calfas |first1=Jennifer |date=16 March 2022 |title=It Turns Out the World's Largest Potato Is Actually a Gourd, Guinness World Records Says |work=The Wall Street Journal |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-worlds-largest-potato-is-actually-a-gourd-guinness-world-records-says-11647452653 |url-status=live |access-date=17 March 2022 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20220316201547/https://www.wsj.com/amp/articles/the-worlds-largest-potato-is-actually-a-gourd-guinness-world-records-says-11647452653 |archive-date=16 March 2022}} Chris Claridge, who assisted in the genetic testing, suggested that the tuber may have grown as the result of infection or disease.{{cite news|last1=Frost|first1=Natasha|title=It Could've Been the World's Largest Potato, if Only It Were a Potato|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/17/world/asia/worlds-largest-potato-doug.html|access-date=17 March 2022|work=The New York Times|date=17 March 2022|archive-date=7 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220507003318/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/17/world/asia/worlds-largest-potato-doug.html|url-status=live}}
Colin Craig-Brown had previously stated that he planned to turn Doug into vodka once the tuber's popularity died down.{{cite news|last1=Ravindran|first1=Jeevan|title=Is this the world's heaviest potato? New Zealand couple accidentally grow a titanic tuber|url=https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/giant-potato-garden-plant-record-heavy-scli-intl/index.html|access-date=17 March 2022|publisher=CNN|date=5 November 2021|language=en|archive-date=9 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220509060234/https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/giant-potato-garden-plant-record-heavy-scli-intl/index.html|url-status=live}}