You won't believe where they buried the guy who invented Pringles. Stick around to find out.
Back in the day, potato chips were kind of a scam. Honestly, still are if you ask me.
In the 1950s, Procter & Gamble noticed people had three big complaints about chips — they were greasy, they went stale fast, and half the bag was just air and crumbs. So they hired a chemist named Fredric Baur to build the perfect chip.
Fredric didn't just make a chip. He used engineering to design a saddle-shaped chip that stacks perfectly and barely ever breaks. Then he designed the iconic tennis-ball-style can to keep them fresh and protected.
There was just one problem. They tasted like cardboard.
Years later, another scientist stepped in and saved the flavor by making a dough out of potato flakes instead of slicing real potatoes — and finally got Pringles tasting good enough to sell.
Competitors weren't happy though. They complained to the FDA, probably hoping to get Pringles banned. Instead, the FDA just told Procter & Gamble they couldn't call it a "chip" without a disclaimer. So Pringles switched to "potato crisps." Still on the can today.
Didn't matter either way — Pringles blew up into a multi-billion dollar brand.
"But here's the crazy part. Fredric Baur was so proud of that can that when he died in 2008, his family had to honor his final wish. They buried his ashes inside an Original flavor Pringles can. Yup. That was his dying wish."
Talk about taking your work to the grave.
If you made it this far, reward yourself.
Go to my Instagram — @kirkpadmore — and leave a passive-aggressive comment about my lighting. Same handle on YouTube and TikTok.
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