The first good thing to grow out of 2020.

It’s been a tough year for humanity. The coronavirus forced us into virtual isolation and pretty much canceled everything, so suffice it so say many people are hoping for brighter days on the horizon.

Whether or not that will actually happen remains to be seen, what with climate change even affecting otaku migration patterns, but perhaps we’ve received a sign that there is hope.

That sign coming in the most literal sense: a potato that naturally grew in the shape of a hand giving the peace sign.

▼ A photo of the potato, with normal non-peace-sign hands for scale.

The potato was grown by a 73-year-old farmer named Shigeo Takaki from Kawamata Town in Fukushima Prefecture. It’s about 50 centimeters (20 inches) long, and he said that while he’s seen some of his potatoes grow in unusual U-shapes before, this was a first for him. He has no idea how it grew this way.

He also said this on the timing:

“A lot of people’s hearts are sinking because of the nonstop spread of the coronavirus. I’d like to gather their hopes in this peace sign that prays for harmony. I hope this nice event can perhaps bring about some smiles.”

Japanese netizens shared his sentiments online:

“That is five more fingers than I’d expect to see on a potato.”
“You don’t even have to look close or anything. It’s so clear!”
“That potato is better at giving the peace sign than me.”
“It’s like something out of an anime or manga.”
“I would like to see nothing but news like this from here on.”
“I hope he took a photo with it and gave a peace sign too.”

While the fate of the peace potato has yet to be determined, here’s to hoping that it won’t just be turned into a bag of drinkable potato chips, because that would be such a 2020 thing to have happen.

Source: Yahoo! News Japan via My Game News Flash
Top image: Unsplash, Pakutaso (Edited by SoraNews24)
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