[GSlob]

"Interesting the Russian would use the German word for potato"
That's how potatoes were introduced into Russia at the end of 18th century. The peasants at first tried to collect the berries (which are poisonous) instead of tubers, and there were riots about "government officials trying to poison the people" - potato riots. After some sense had been beaten into them by military detachments sent to restore order, potatoes became a staple. There are many other German loanwords there, with similar provenance of foreign introduction, for example locksmith = schlusser(sp?) ='slesar', including a lot of technical terminology. Even medieval suit of plate armor "pantsyr'" closely resembles German 'Panzer', doesn't it?

[Clemenza]

That's also because many of the potato farmers in Russia were German as well.

[jb6]

That's because the first tubers brought over to Europe were very small. It was European farmers that gave the world large potatoes, several of which were poisonous varieties and proved lethal to their growers.

In the US for a long time, tomatoes were seen as a poisonous weed.

[jb6]

Panzer does not mean mediveal plate, it means armor in general, why german tanks are called panzers. Armor in Russian is bronyo.

[jb6]

I know you say all this to prove that Russians are barbaric apes who are to stupid to think. I know your usual posts and you either flat out say it and get flamed or try to hide it by innuendo. But don't forget, what you consider a civilized language, English, is a hodge pudge of Keltic, Latin, Germanic and French. Why feces is a "cultured" french world for shit, a "dirty uncultured" saxon german word.

[Plutarch]

The potato is of significant historical importance, as it supported greatly increased population in the areas where it was cultivated, especially Northern Europe. Interesting article:

The Impact of the Potato