Potatoes on a Stick

Very few Instructables have brought me as much raw joy as the P.O.A.S (Potato On A Stick) Instructable I was introduced to a little while ago. While I know it is a risk to attempt to improve on the perfection of this first post, I had some extra potatoes and wanted to try to elevate this project in a way that I believe stays true to the original project.

You can view the original P.O.A.S. project by CharlesB123 HERE.

• 2 x Potato
• 1 x Dowel / stick
• Optional: Sand paper

For this project, you will need a minimum of two potatoes.

If you need help selecting these potatoes, I recommend the following:

1. Close your eyes and imagine a potato
2. Open your eyes and grab the potato that looks closest to the image in your head
3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 as needed.

Given how challenging this project is, I think a bit more instruction should be offered beyond what was included in the original post for how to select a stick.

If you are unable to travel to Japan to get the high quality sticks recommended in the original design, do not despair. A high quality dowel should do the trick just fine.

Based on the potatos you selected, carefully select a stick that meets the following two requirements;

1. The stick should be strong enough to support the weight of both potatoes (which will act as a lever arm when attached to one end of the stick) without bending.
2. The stick should not have a diameter greater than 1/4 the minimum diameter of the potatoes being used (to avoid being proportionally disturbing to view).

As a general rule of thumb, a larger potato should have a thicker support stick and vice versa.

If your dowel / stick has a blunt end, you may need to use sandpaper to shape one end of the stick into a point that can be easily inserted into the potatoes.

To do this, rub the edge of the dowel on sandpaper at a 45 degree angle while slowly rotating the dowel in your hand until a point is formed.

Anyone who has attempted the basic version of this project will likely know that planning is key to making a final product you can be proud of.

Before blindly inserting the stick into the potatoes, make sure to plan your approach. Consider what angle you should insert the stick from for each potato and, if needed, mark your preferred location with a marker before beginning.

Once you have determined where to insert the stick, carefully push the stick into the potato, rotating the stick slightly as you force it through the other side. You are done when you have pushed the stick through the potato so that the exposed stick on the other end of the stick is greater than half the length of the second potato (but less then that length of the second potato).

Hopefully you've been able to follow these steps so far, but take a moment to check back to ensure you haven't missed anything before this final step. This step is what separates this updated project from its predecessor and, in my opinion, this is what makes this project truly original. Unfortunately, greatness comes at a price, and in this case that price is difficulty, so complete this last step with care.

Carefully hold the stick that is holding one potato in one hand and the other potato in the other. Slowly poke the stick into the second potato and push until both potatoes are touching.

And that's it! You have successfully created your own Ps.O.A.S (Potatoes On a Stick) project!