ONTARIO (AP) — How did a ‘tater become a tot?

A History Channel crews visited here recently for a Modern Marvels segment to find out, in the land where the tot is top ‘tater, pretty much.

A production crew with field producer Mary Courtney toured Ontario’s Heinz Frozen Food Company plant Friday for a segment to lead a Modern Marvels show featuring potatoes that will extend to potato vodka and growing potatoes in space.

“We went to see how Kettle-chips were made in Salem,’’ Courtney said. “We spoke to Larry Zuckerman, the author of ‘How the Humble Spud Changed the Western World,’ and Chuck Brown, a potato geneticist.’’

Courtney said she has also visited pinball factories, vending machine factories and whiskey distilleries.

But Friday her gaze was on the Ontario plant, as curly fries, crinkle cut fries and Tater Tots zoomed passed on conveyor belts.

But attention went to the Tater Tot, invented by Ore-Ida, Heinz Senior Manager of Public Relations Jessica Jackson said.

Senior Manager of Operations Mark Ratcliffe said the idea was born in 1953 to utilize the small pieces of potato remaining after French fries were made.

People put their heads together and decided to form the leftovers into a similar size and fry them, Ore-Ida research scientist Dwane Benson said.

The original mold was of wood.

Early on, he said, they graced the plates of upscale diners in New York and Chicago to measure their appeal.

As cameras rolled, Benson spoke of his latest inventions, the ABC tot, which features tots in the shapes of the letters of the alphabet.

“This is a very fun product for the kids,’’ he said. They really think it’s fun to spell their name with them.’’

The programs usually take about three and one half months from production to broadcast.

Information from: Argus Observer, http://www.argusobserver.com