Potatoes are among the most popular vegetables in America. In fact, the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that the average American eats approximately 138 pounds of potatoes every year!

Many people say that the skin of the potato contains most of the nutrients. This isn't entirely true. While the skin is a good source of fiber and vitamin C--containing about 20 percent of the recommended daily allowances for these nutrients--the majority of the potato's nutrients are found in the pulp. You can almost double your intake of most nutrients when you eat both the pulp and the skin of a potato.

Here are a couple of interesting facts about potatoes:

• Thomas Jefferson introduced French fries when he served them at the White House.

• There are more than 5,000 varieties of potatoes.