Simon Murton, one of my colleagues involved in creating the original SB list now has a house in Vibrac, France where he takes part in an annual competition to fire potatoes using a giant home made spud gun.
I think it’s just the expats that do this.
He sent me a load of technical details suggesting books on spud ballistics and explained some of the challenges. He warned me about problems with accuracy associated with long sagging barrels.