God bless Jersey City, honestly:

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009 ... potatowielding_gunma.html

I think this might warrant a call to the Mythbusters crew, no?

I heard it was not a potato but an Ore Ida "Extra Crispy" fry.

Do not forget Cheetos are a weapon as well

http://www.t-g.com/story/1549895.html

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And in Paris the gendarme shout "Frites!"


This is the craziest thread.

Maybe he was going to plug the tailpipe of the gas stations owners car so they cant follow them getting away.

In parts of Europe gunmen have been known to carry a potato in their non-shooting hand as a precaution in the event of capture. It has been found that a jury will show greater leniency to a potato-bearing offender despite their armed aggression. Apparently the potato adds a certain cartoonlike quality to the crime, which nullifies some of the jury's righteous indignation.

This phenomenon has also been witnessed in northern Australia, where it is known as the "root vegetable effect", since it also works well with turnips.

well, it isn't clear whether the alleged perpertrator used the gun or the potato (potatoe? - Dan Quayle) to threaten the attendant. since he had both, which did he use as a weapon?

Maybe he was seriously lobbying for alternative fuels like the guy who runs his car on the used french fry oil of mcdonalds, etc.

Yeah, laugh it up...

Crime is down; Healy said so!

Quote:
He probably didn't know that or was thinking the guy he was robbing wouldn't and it would show he meant business.

2 second google search for "potato silencer" shows it's a misconception / urban legend.

http://urbanlegends.about.com/b/2006/ ... er-is-an-urban-legend.htm

http://msgboard.snopes.com/cgi-bin/ul ... t_topic;f=92;t=001716;p=1

http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoax/we ... /potato_used_as_silencer/

Again, that took 2 seconds.

I heard rumors that Mr. Potatohead had fallen on hard times. May be hard to capture as he's a master of disguise.

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why a potato? wouldnt it have been too thick for the bullet to have done any serious damage? if action movies have taught me anything, he should have brought a pillow instead

Give me all your money!!! or I'll mash this potato on your head!!!

Sorry I couldn't help it.

The use of the potato is to place it at the end of the nozzle and supposedly it acts as a silencer. It seems to me that this guy really means business, lucky thing that nobody got hurt.

Sticks up gas station with gun, and a potato
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
By MICHAELANGELO CONTE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

A man armed with the unusual combination of a handgun and a potato held up a gas station near the Holland Tunnel in Jersey City late Sunday, officials said.

At 11:06 p.m., the robber pushed a worker at the Gulf station at 12th and Erie streets and entered the office, reports said.

As he demanded money, the robber held a gun in his right hand and what appeared be a potato in his left, the gas station attendant told police.

Handed the day's proceeds, the robber walked to the nearby Burger King parking lot where he got into a waiting two-door black vehicle and was driven away heading east on 12th Street toward the tunnel, reports said.

The robber is described as 30 to 35 years old, of strong build, and having red dreadlocks, reports said. Port Authority police responded and posted officers on the New York side of the tunnel, but they did not spot the getaway car, reports said.

It is not clear why the robber was carrying a potato.