Pringles potato chips and their dapper, moustachioed mascot have an interesting story. There has
been a long running argument over whether the salty snacks are actually chips or crisps.
But regardless of the truth, the unique saddle shaped snack that comes in a tube is popular
the world over. So let’s pop the lid on the top 10 untold truths about Pringles chips.
What's In A Name?
Most snack lovers are probably familiar with the Pringles mascot seen on every can of chips.
This well groomed character with his hair parted down the middle and a bold mustache
has literally been the face of Pringles since the late 1960's. Julius Pringles, as the character
has always been known, was invented by a man named Louis R. Dixon. This well known cartoon
face has undergone some minor cosmetic changes over the years such as having his rosy red
cheeks removed in 1996. As well as getting extra classy in 2002 when they decided to
add a bow tie to the Mr. Pringle design. I suppose these changes gave him a slightly
more sleek and modern look so the classic mascot could continue to compete in the hyper
competitive snack market. This is a market that almost always caters to a young demographic.
From that point of view it's a little surprising they didn't revamp Julius into a completely
new character. Regardless of the changes Julius has endured—he has remained a popular mascot
recognized all around the world. Customers commonly refer to Julius as the "Pringles
guy," but the truth is it’s nice to know he has a dignified name that fits his classic
design.
Do Not Adjust Your Pringles Can
You won't be able to host a rock concert using an empty Pringles can any time soon, but you
can make a rudimentary speaker that will boost your smart phone's sound. The basic design
for this makeshift speaker involves cutting a slot in the side of an empty Pringles can
so you can stand up your phone inside it. The next step is to stuff some napkins or
toilet paper inside the empty tube. This will dampen the echo produced by the hollow tube
and improve the sound. It’s also recommended by the online speaker enthusiasts that you
glue some type of beads or clips to the bottom of the can so it stays in place. Otherwise
your new speaker will be in constant danger of rolling onto its side or even worse - onto
the floor. You might be inclined to think this is just another one of those silly marketing
gimmicks for a popular snack brand. However, the consensus on the Internet is that this
simple to make speaker actually does give your phone increased volume and a crisper
sound. Just a few short minutes of preparation and your Pringles can will be ready to rock
out at your next kitchen concert.
Stranger Than Fiction
Gene Rodman Wolfe is a prolific science fiction and fantasy writer who has published books
with names like The Book of the New Sun. This popular fantasy novel has been ranked as the
third best of its kind written before 1990 after The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. Although
Mr. Wolfe is mostly known for his literary works, he also played an important role in
a key episode in Pringles history. After fighting in the Korean War in the early 1950's, Wolfe
returned to the United States and worked to earn a degree in Industrial Engineering from
the University of Houston. After graduating from college he worked in the engineering
field for a number of years before switching over to become a full-time writer. At one
point in his engineering career, Mr. Wolfe had an opportunity to do some work for the
makers of Pringles chips. He used his extensive knowledge of engineering, and perhaps his
vivid imagination as well, to design the machine that cooks these unique chips. So even if
Mr. Wolfe hadn't had a successful career as a fiction writer, he would have been celebrated
by Pringles fans for his important contribution to this popular snack.
Brad Pitt Was The Face Of Pringles
Brad Pitt is a Hollywood star well known for his leading man good looks and a long list
of film credits. You probably know that Pitt was married to Hollywood beauties Angelina
Jolie and Jennifer Aniston has been involved with a string of desirable women like Gwyneth
Paltrow. But did you know that early in his acting career Pitt was the star of a Pringles
television commercial? Television commercials are common stops along the career paths of
young actors who haven't made it big yet. Many times actors prefer to want to forget
these modest early roles and focus on their hit movie roles. This particular Pringles
commercial doesn't look like it was worthy of winning any awards. On the other hand,
the handsome Mr. Pitt appears to be having a lot of fun in this 1989 spot where he is
seen eating Pringles chips and hanging out with beautiful young women. Maybe there's
a chance Mr. Pitt can be convinced to reprise this role and share some small screen time
with Mr. Julius Pringle once again. While it would certainly be a fun marketing ploy,
we probably shouldn't hold our breaths.
Who Invented Pringles?
Product development can be a complicated business and this is true in the case of Pringles chips.
At least two men have been identified with the invention of this popular snack. The story
starts out straight forward enough when in 1956 Proctor and Gamble asked a chemist named
Fredric Baur to come up with a new potato chip. The company wanted to respond to customer
complaints about damaged and oil laden chips. Customers were also annoyed by all the air
in their bags of potato chips. After working on the project for 2 years, Baur came up with
fried dough in the now familiar saddle shape, along with a tubular can, but there was one
problem: the new chips didn't taste very good, so Baur was dropped from the experimental
potato chip program. About 10 years later, P&G decided to try again and tapped a man
named Alexander Liepa to develop a new and tasty chip. He used Baur's work as a starting
point moving forward and eventually did succeed in making a new chip his bosses were happy
with. Most people who have looked at this controversy consider Baur the true inventor
of the Pringles chip, but it is Mr. Liepa's name on the patent. But it looks like Mr.
Baur might have gotten the last laugh because his ashes were actually buried in a Pringles
can. How's that for a legacy?
Chip Or Not A Chip?
Many potato chip makers were alarmed by the success of Pringles brand chips. They decided
to band together and complain that the chips were not in fact chips. The group argued that
P&G shouldn't be allowed to call its tasty new product a potato chip. Perhaps instead
of complaining about Pringles, the other companies should have gotten to work on creating new
snacks customers wanted to eat. The people tasked with marketing Pringles decided to
refer to the snack as "Newfangled potato chips" and its customers happily accepted this. However,
the Food and Drug Administration was not so happy and in 1975 ruled against Pringles.
The company decided to shrug off the government's decision and made a decision to change the
description of their product. They started calling the snacks "crisps." Years later this
led to a court battle in the United Kingdom where they are serious about their crisps.
In 2008 the British government ruled Pringles, as a crisp, are an unnecessary food and therefore
subject to a Value Added Tax. P&G went to court to argue Pringles are indeed a basic
food because they are made from a dough and not just a lowly "potato crisp product." The
court ultimately ruled that Pringles aren't subject to the VAT and customers could go
about their business of enjoying the tasty snack - regardless of whether they're technically
chips or crisps!
An Embarrassment Of Chips
Pringles potato chips are a tasty favorite around the world so it's safe to assume everyone
will be happy with only a handful of flavors. For a while the chip maker got away with selling
the basic chip flavor to customers and they seemed content. However, with such a diverse
customer base, it was just a matter of time before they'd have to offer more. There are
a lot of palates to satisfy and a lot of opportunities to experiment with unique flavors. The drive
to satisfy all of these different tastes has resulted in at least 100 flavors of Pringles
chips. Some of the more popular flavors include Sour Cream and Onion, Cheddar, Barbecue, and
Ranch, but these varieties barely scratch the surface of potential flavors. Some of
the unique Pringle flavors found on the international snack market include Blueberry and Hazelnut,
Bangkok Grilled Chicken Wing, Cinnamon Sweet Potato, and Garlic Seafood. It seems like
there is literally a Pringle flavor for every conceivable taste, so you'll be covered whether
you prefer the original Pringles or crave something more exotic like Indonesian Satay,
a seasoned and grilled meat dish. The dessert flavored chips that include things like cinnamon
and chocolate might seem a little odd, but different combinations of sweet and salty
chips have been a popular choice for many.
Hot Dog In A Can
If you thought the Pringles can made into a speaker was a pretty cool idea, then you're
really going to love the Pringles can as a hot dog cooker idea. Even though the Pringles
can speaker turned out to be real, the Pringles hot dog cooker seemed to be an Internet inspired
hoax. After you've eaten all the chips, the empty can will have to be cut open to expose
the shiny, foil surface on the inside of the can. Once you have the interior exposed, simply
place a hot dog inside, suspended by a skewer fitted through both ends of the can. Hot dog
enthusiasts have reported on the Internet that when exposed to the energy of the sun,
the temperature of the interior of the can will easily rise above 170 degrees. You should
know at the outset that you don't want to be in much of a hurry to eat your hot dog
if this is the heating method you've decided to use. However, you can finish the rest of
the chips while you're waiting for your hot dog to heat up. Obviously. you'll have to
buy additional cans of Pringles if you want to cook more than one hot dog at a time. If
you get tired of waiting you can always use a microwave oven instead. Since typically
hot dogs have already been cooked when you buy them, a makeshift Pringles cooker is more
than enough to heat them up. Hot dogs certainly go well with Pringles but the question is:
do Pringles come in a hot dog flavor?
Pringles? That Is The Question
In 2004 Proctor & Gamble decided to introduce a twist: tasty Pringles chips to feed your
taste buds and fun facts and trivia questions to feed your brain. The company explained
that it would use edible blue and red food dyes and a special conveyer belt printer to
print questions and answers on the side of a chip. But the question was, did people want
to work their brains or just pop more chips in their mouths? In a partnership with companies
like the makers of the Trivial Pursuit Junior game, P&G decided on several categories including
a variety of jokes, fun facts, and animal facts. Market research about the plan conducted
by P&G provided the company with some important insights. For example, customers told researchers
that each chip in a can would need to have a different message. This seems like an unnecessarily
high bar for a lowly snack food to have to meet, but the customer is always right. The
reasoning behind this particular demand was that children and parents alike would be disappointed
by duplicate messages in the same can, and yeah, that makes sense. Although no final
decision has been made, P&G suggested that sometime in the future Pringles chips could
be printed with other messages such as advertisements. This idea might not go over as well as the
trivia questions did, but we have a strong feeling it wouldn't prevent most customers
from continuing to enjoy one of their favorite snacks.
Totally Tubular!
Fans of the classic tubular canister we all associate with Pringles chips have a chemist
to thank for the unique design. When Frederic Baur tackled the customer complaints of greasy,
broken chips in an air-filled bag, he decided to design a saddle shaped chip which is technically
known as a hyperbolic paraboloid. This is a shape that is easily stacked and can be
conveniently shipped and sold in a rigid container. The result is the very recognizable tubular
canister that continues to be associated with Pringles chips sold around the world. This
forward thinking design has led to a significant reduction in the amount of breakage. Also,
customers don't have to open packages filled with a lot of air (specifically, the bags
are filled with nitrogen), instead of more chips. The only drawback is that after you've
eaten a few chips you have to tip the can over on its side to get the chips to slide
out. We’ve always been a little suspicious that these stackable chips in a can were part
of a clever marketing ploy to make it even easier for hungry customers eat plenty of
chips. Either way, Pringles chips are a unique snack that are sold in what is probably one
of the most recognizable food packages out there.
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