#29: The Great Potato Famine
Certain occurrences in history have puzzled people for generations. And whilst there isn’t always a way to find out the reasons behind certain things, it is amazing what modern technology and a little bit of research can do. We can’t go back in time and change the course of history, but we can be aware not to make the same mistakes.
In the mid-1800s, the Great Potato Famine devastated the people of Ireland and claimed the lives of 1 million people. It has always been known that potato blight was the thing responsible for this great devastation, however, they weren’t sure which strain it was up until now. Researchers found that the deadly strain responsible was HERB-1. The research was done through the use of 11 historical samples of potato leaves collected 150 years ago.