Propitious Esculent: Why Are Potatoes Suddenly Buzzworthy?

Okay, this one's killin' me. Your humble and loyal Truemorist has no f*cking clue why the term "Propitious Esculent" is suddenly buzzworthy... or why it's trending in conjunction with Taxi Driver psycho Travis Bickle. We all know that 2008 was Year of the Potato, I mean, duh, and that there's a book called Potato: A History of the Propitious Esculent by John Reader (should be John Writer, no?), but still. Why do people care today?

I like chips. I like fries. I like fries when they're called "chips". I like mashed potatoes. I like shoestring potatoes. I like... well, you get the idea. But I don't Google potatoes. I know what potatoes are. If I want to search for potatoes, I do so at the supermarket. So what's the deal here? Is this one 'a them trivia questions?

Oh, and by the way, "propitous" means beneficial; "esculent" means you can eat it.