10 Things You Didn't Know About French Fries (Slideshow)

Should they even be called "French" fries? Belgians claim to have invented "Frites" and there is an ongoing disagreement between the Belgium and France over its true origin. Some also believe that the fry may have first been introduced in Spain via Colombia. 

Around seven per cent of the potatoes grown in the U.S. end up being sold by McDonald's. They sell more than ⅓ of all the French fries sold in restaurants in the U.S. each year.

The average American eats 30 pounds of French fries per year. You're going to need a lot of ketchup.

The earliest known reference to French fries in English literature is in A Tale of Two Cities. Charles Dickens refers to "Husky chips of potato, fried with some reluctant drops of oil". 

Thomas Jefferson gets the credit for introducing French fries to America when he served them at a White House dinner in 1802 after reportedly requesting, "potatoes, fried in the French manner."

The U.S. eats more fries than any other country, but Belgians consume more French fries per capita.

Ed "Cookie" Jarvis won the Nathan's Famous World French Fry Eating Championship in 1995 by downing a total of 4.46 pounds of crinkle cut fries in six minutes.

The Fries Museum, or Frietmuseum, in Bruges, Belgium is the first and only museum in the world dedicated to potato fries. 

The world's largest "French fry feed" is held every year in Grand Forks, North Dakota, during Potato Bowl USA; more than 5,000 pounds were eaten there in 2012!

Stealing your partner's French fries is reportedly one of the biggest reasons for quarrels in restaurants.