Most of us who are familiar with George Washington Carver think of him as “The Peanut Man” because of the plethora of products and recipes he created that used peanuts. But why was Carver so interested in creating ways to utilize the peanut plant? Why is he associated with peanuts? The answer to these questions is related to the ability of the peanut plant and other legumes to convert nitrogen in the soil to a form that’s usable to plants.