The Martian, starring Matt Damon, was released in 2015 to a strong response, receiving some special commendations from scientists working in space agencies. In the movie, botanist Mark Watney, played by Matt Damon, travels to Mars with a crew of five members. Complications arise early on and Watney ends up being stranded on the planet. He has to survive until the crew of the next mission arrives to rescue him in 18 months. To survive, he grows potatoes on the parched planet under controlled conditions, and actually manages to survive for a long time. So, could you actually survive on a potatoes-only diet? Potatoes make a very good choice for a person who has no hope for a more nutritious diet over a long period of time, but the risks of not having any other nutritional supplements will take their toll eventually. So how did the Irish keep going for generations on a single crop? Most washed their potatoes down with buttermilk, and that one habit supplied the vitamin B12, calcium, and vitamin A the potato lacks. In other words, it's never the potato that would do you in — it's everything the potato lacks.
