A starchy surprise: Winnipeg couple discovers cabinet filled with potato tendrils
A Manitoba couple has gone viral after discovering a starchy surprise in one of their cabinets.
It all began on Tuesday when Brian and Crystal Hood noticed a small vine sticking out of their china cabinet. At first, they assumed it was just a plant that had gotten stuck, but when they opened the doors, they found something unexpected—a large pile of strands and tendrils growing from a bag of potatoes.
Potato video
The vine sticking out of the cabinet pictured on July 25, 2025. (Brian Hood)
'Potatoes, when they don't get planted, they try to plant themselves,' Brian explained.
'They start growing these white tentacle-y tendrils out there and send them out into the universe. I guess these potatoes really wanted to find some soil.'
It turns out the potatoes had been sitting in the cabinet since October.
Brian said he gardens in his backyard, and these were part of last year's harvest that he intended to use as a seed potato for this year's batch.
However, things took an unpredictable turn when Brian and Crystal forgot about the bag in the cabinet.
'We had no idea [about the potatoes],' Brian said. 'I guess we don't use that china cabinet very much, I'm starting to realize. It was a complete surprise.'
Potato Video
The tendrils can be seen growing from the brown paper bag filled with potatoes on July 25, 2025. (Brian Hood)
After they made the discovery, the couple opted to make a video showcasing the tentacled taters.
Though Brian said he doesn't use Instagram a lot, he decided to post this video because he thought it would make his mom laugh.
'She's probably one of my 50 followers,' he said. 'So that was really all I was hoping to get out of it.'
Much to Brian's and Crystal's surprise, the video ended up going viral—garnering one million views and more than 43,000 likes as of Friday.
'It was kind of unbelievable,' Brian said. 'We didn't really know what was going on or why it was going that way, but I guess there's a lot of potato fans out there on the internet.'
As for what Brian and Crystal have done with the bag of potatoes, he said it's still in the cabinet while they figure out what to do with it.
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