The Prussian King, Frederick the Great established one of the most flourishing kingdoms of the time of Enlightenment. He is mostly known both as a dominant strategist on the battlefield and art lover. He was also known for his intelligence and was interested in studying academic knowledge of his time. Only very few know that he was one of the first marketing geniuses of his time.

During his reign, the people of Prussia suffered from serious food shortages. People had very less or nothing to eat. Frederick was looking for a solution that would solve this fundamental problem in a fairly easy way.

He thought that a new vegetable that was not endemic on the land of Prussia would solve the problem. He chose to introduce potatoes to the people. At first, the people wouldn't know how to eat it and they were not so happy to eat something that was grown underground. They ate potato raw and got sick often. So at first it was not a success story.

As Frederick saw that his plan was not going well, he made a plan to make people more interested in the new vegetable.

He gave the order to his gardener to plant potatoes in front of his palace so the people of the Royal Court could see it. When the plants started to grow he gave the order to his guards that they have to guard the plants.

Whoever passed the garden of the palace saw guards patrol in front of the potato field.

This simple scenery made people think that potatoes must be so precious that they need to be protected by guards.