Tomorrow will be our 5th Annual 'Tater Launch party, where we gather everyone we can (whoever is sober enough after a big NY's night out) and they come to our house for lunch and sometime during the afternoon, they will all go outside to the backyard where they will put a potato into a PVC pipe "gun" and will -- through various mechanical means, some hair-spray as propellant, and a flint -- ignite said 'tater and shoot it out of the gun.
Yes, we are all about class 'round here, let me tell you.
The first year started innocently enough, I suppose. Friends were visiting from D.C., and they'd never been here. I wanted to minimize their perception of southerners as "hicks" and so had planned a couple of minor events to showcase Louisiana and our culture. The very first night, though, Carl and the wife of my friend started riffing at the restaurant on potatoes and ways to serve them. They hadn't even been drinking, and somehow, launching 'taters at people in a drive-through was suggested and before I knew what had happened, Carl was explaining shooting 'taters from a 'tater gun. The wife said she'd never heard or seen such a thing and Carl promised her that she'd get to shoot a 'tater before she left. So much for not being hicks. I don't know what I was expecting.
Anyway, the next day or so went well, and I thought everyone had forgotten about the 'tater gun, but then on the first, when our families and a few friends came over for lunch and to meet my visiting friends, the next thing I knew is that Carl and Luke and Jake had broken out the 'tater gun and were outside with my visiting friends and they were shooting 'taters. We live in a nice neighborhood, people. And my family was outside, shooting 'taters over the neighbor's yards at first, until they realized that maybe that wasn't such a bright idea. I was fairly mortified until I looked out there and realized the wife had ahold of the 'tater gun and was so excited about shooting one, she was jumping with glee.
So that's how it began. And everyone leaving there that day said, "See you next year for the next 'tater launch" and the tradition was born.
Now we have lots and lots of food, I get a spacewalk for the little kids (which just arrived as I write this) and there are TVs on everywhere with whatever big game is on. Meanwhile, everyone pigs out and shoots 'taters (now we build a big target so we don't littler the neighbors' yards) and general silliness prevails.
(There has been only one emergency room visit. I am strangely proud of that.)
Photos tomorrow...
Posted by toni at December 31, 2004 12:10 PMTater launching.
Only in Louisiana.
And I can say that because I'm a native Louisianian, born and raised, living in Metairie, and I think the Tater Launch thing is a great and fun idea. Hell, I wouldn't mind seeing it.
Posted by: Karen at December 31, 2004 12:43 PMI too am excited about the Tater Launch. Admittedly, my butt would be hauled to JAIL on base here. Although, it would probably just bounce on the pigeon netting! Have a wonderful New Year's!
Posted by: Alex at December 31, 2004 07:13 PMThat's sounds like a blast. But, what was the emergency room visit for?
Posted by: Heather at January 1, 2005 09:05 AMLOL. That would be frightening if it weren't for the fact I'm willing to guess very few of your readers, or mine for that matter, would pass up the opportunity to participate if offered.
Hope you've had a great day!
-G
Posted by: Garrison Steelle at January 1, 2005 04:48 PMWow, so many comments?? How do you do it!?
B.A.R. Editor
www.badassreviews.com
Not just in Louisiana, friends and neighbors.
/lives in Tennessee
Posted by: saille at January 1, 2005 10:35 PMI've never heard of shootin' taters, but it's the same thing as Punkin' chunkin' I guess... Shooting pumpkins more than a half mile! I'd like to shoot the tater gun too!
Posted by: John at January 2, 2005 10:07 AMThere is nothing more important that establishing traditions with your dearest friends... especially if it involves the explosive propellent of produce. Happy New Year!
Posted by: kimdog at January 2, 2005 01:47 PMToni, yanno.....
It's not just you there in the south that can be accused of being a little bit more than pink around the collar.
Here in the "north" (yeah like Ohio is soooooooo civilized) you might be a redneck if (1) you light something on fire (2) you shoot it from anything slightly resembling a firearm (3) you can laugh your hiney off in the process.
*sigh* It's considered high quality entertainment.
Oy Vey.
Save me?
Posted by: Shannon at January 2, 2005 02:42 PMOh yeah....
I forgot to ask.....
Do you fire dem dere 'taters wiff dah skins on or off?
*snorts in laughter*
Hi, I just surfed in through Blog Explosion and wanted to say hello. I think that tater shooting sounds like a great way to ring in the new year - food and firearms together, what could be better??? :)
Posted by: Denise at January 2, 2005 05:26 PMI wanna join your family. You guys are so cool.
I don't think they'd notice- we have the same name and all, so they might think I'm just a clone of you...just the Asian version.
Found your site through blogsexplosion. You book marked my site.
Posted by: pylorns at January 4, 2005 07:51 AMThis is all a very new and novel idea to me, I saw the pictures and now I'm curious as to what the tater gun is actually made from... :)
Posted by: Fern at January 4, 2005 05:20 PMThe tater gun is comprised of PVC pipe, built with a chamber at the bottom end and a barrel protruding out from that chamber. If you look carefully at the close-up where I show the boys spraying in the propellant, you'll see a small round dot in the center of that chamber (just to the right of the duct tape)... that's a flint. The potato is inserted in the pipe end and pushed down into the pipe (which essentially seals up that end). Then the propellant is sprayed in there (we used to use hair spray, but Luke found some other spray worked better -- I think it was carbuerator cleaner). As soon as enough is sprayed in, you seal that end of the chamber (see the cap in Luke's hand) and then the shooter twists the little flint knob on the side of the chamber. That twisting clicks the flint, which creates a spart in the chamber, which ignites the propellent, which shoots the potato back out the other end.
There are lots of variations on design. I had a guy proudly tell me that he had made an "automatic" tater launcher with 8 barrels. He used car batteries to ignite his (and I didn't ever quite understand how, but he was kinda scary about how enthusiastic he was about it, so I didn't keep asking questions.)
Posted by: toni at January 4, 2005 10:17 PM