All children know to fear that weird green one you find in every pack of crisps but are kids right to be afraid of this poisonous looking morsel?
Well interestingly enough, maybe…
According to new Channel 4 programme , Food Unwrapped the reason that some crisps turn a dodgy shade of green is due to a chemical called chlorophyll.
For those who don’t remember their high school biology lessons, chlorophyll is the chemical that makes most plants green. It’s used by them to absorb sunlight in a process known as photosynthesis.
According to the show’s co-presenter Matt Tebbutt, potatoes normally grow underground but if parts of them start to grow above the ground they start to turn a sickly green when exposed to sunlight.
Chlorophyll can contain something known as solanine – a toxin that can, in moderate doses, cause nausea, diarrhoea, vomiting, cardiac dysrhythmia, and in severe cases paralysis, hypothermia, and death.
Sounds pretty fucking terrifying right? But it’s really not as bad as it seems.
You probably won’t be popping your clogs anytime soon – the average person would have to eat an entire green potato before they even start feeling unwell.
So don’t go throwing all your Walkers out just yet.
More of a concept than a journalist, Tom Percival was forged in the bowels of Salford University from which he emerged grasping a Masters in journalism.
Since then his rise has been described by himself as ‘meteoric’ rising to the esteemed rank of Social Editor at UNILAD as well as working at the BBC, Manchester Evening News, and ITV.
He credits his success to three core techniques, name repetition, personality mirroring, and never breaking off a handshake.