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Pringles Can Designer Dies, Buried In a Pringles Can

n3hat sends along an item from the Cincinnati Enquirer: "Dr. Fredric J. Baur was so proud of having designed the container for Pringles... that he asked his family to bury him in one. His children honored his request. Part of his remains was buried in a Pringles can — along with a regular urn containing the rest... Dr. Baur, a retired organic chemist and food storage technician who specialized in research and development and quality control for Procter & Gamble, died May 4 at 89... He developed many products, including frying oils and a freeze-dried ice cream, for P&G... But the Pringles can was his proudest accomplishment, his daughter said. He received a patent for the package as well as the method of packaging Pringles in 1970."

261 comments

  1. aha by rakslice · · Score: 5, Funny

    so that's what they're made out of...

    1. Re:aha by dotancohen · · Score: 2, Funny

      so that's what they're made out of... Didn't you know? Solyent Green is people.
      --
      It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.
    2. Re:aha by Tablizer · · Score: 1

      Classic Simpsons spoof on Soylent Green:

      http://cache.valleywag.com/assets/resources/2007/08/soylent_green.gif

      "Now with more girls!"

    3. Re:aha by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      and Solyent Plaid is Scottish people?

    4. Re:aha by kshade · · Score: 3, Funny
      Yep. From TFA:

      Fredric J. Baur was designer of P&G's Pringles container
      Chemist had a hand in many products
    5. Re:aha by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      i hope he didn't die with a chip on his shoulder

    6. Re:aha by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Once you pop your clogs, you just can't stop.

  2. Pringles cans suck. by 3p1ph4ny · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I can't get my hand in them to get the chips out of the bottom.

    1. Re:Pringles cans suck. by SoupIsGoodFood_42 · · Score: 5, Informative

      Have you tried tilting the can?

    2. Re:Pringles cans suck. by TitusC3v5 · · Score: 1

      I feel your pain. I too have problems with my hands swelling after excessive amounts of masterbation.

      --
      And the masses cried out, "09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0!"
    3. Re:Pringles cans suck. by phagstrom · · Score: 2, Insightful

      That's the smart bit. If your hand is too big to fit in the Pringles can, you should stop eating them. The Pringles Diet....maybe I should write a book or something.

    4. Re:Pringles cans suck. by satoshi1 · · Score: 4, Funny

      But do you know how much work that is!?

    5. Re:Pringles cans suck. by naz404 · · Score: 2, Funny

      No way man!!!

      Pringles cans rule!!!

      They make excellent cheap Darth Vader voice modulators!

      Try speaking into an empty one with your best James Earl Jones impression to do a Darth Vader.

      Makes for an excellent party trick ;)

      Hmmm... I wonder what flavoer Dr. Baur was buried in...

    6. Re:Pringles cans suck. by glitch23 · · Score: 5, Funny

      I too have problems with my hands swelling after excessive amounts of masterbation.

      Obviously. It seems to affect your typing.

      --
      this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom. -- Lincoln, Gettysburg Address
    7. Re:Pringles cans suck. by zoogies · · Score: 3, Informative

      Crumbs.

    8. Re:Pringles cans suck. by TitusC3v5 · · Score: 2, Funny

      Sorry, hands were still sticky at the time.

      --
      And the masses cried out, "09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0!"
    9. Re:Pringles cans suck. by Opportunist · · Score: 4, Funny

      With a bit of skill crumbs are no problem. There is a little "hump" at the top of a Pringles can which can deal with crumbs fairly well. And if everything fails, there's still the option to hold your hand under the can to collect them. Gravity is your friend.

      Well, unless you eat too many...

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    10. Re:Pringles cans suck. by bumby · · Score: 4, Funny

      If only the can was designed to have a lid at the bottom as well...

      --
      Hey! That's my sig you're smoking there!
    11. Re:Pringles cans suck. by mikji · · Score: 0

      Touche, sir

    12. Re:Pringles cans suck. by Ethan+Allison · · Score: 3, Funny

      Soylent Green flavor... get with the meme here

    13. Re:Pringles cans suck. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      "The self regulating nature of Pringles - if your hand can't fit in the tube anymore, you probably shouldn't be eating them anyway."

    14. Re:Pringles cans suck. by ABasketOfPups · · Score: 5, Funny

      "If your hand is too big to fit in the Pringles can, you should stop eating them. "

      Yes, for heaven's sake, stop eating your hands.

    15. Re:Pringles cans suck. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And it's next to impossible to fit a body in one, believe me.

    16. Re:Pringles cans suck. by ozmanjusri · · Score: 2, Funny

      Sorry, hands were still sticky at the time. Might help you get those chips out of the bottom of the can.

      Good for crumb collection too, if you lick your fingers.

      --
      "I've got more toys than Teruhisa Kitahara."
    17. Re:Pringles cans suck. by phagstrom · · Score: 1

      Naaah, a diet where you can't eat your hands will never work!

      om nom nom nom

    18. Re:Pringles cans suck. by phozz+bare · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Ah, but you can also use the lid as a plate for collecting crumbs if you don't want your palms to get all greasy.

    19. Re:Pringles cans suck. by radimvice · · Score: 4, Informative

      That's the same exact logic that brought us the drinking straw.

    20. Re:Pringles cans suck. by Mateo_LeFou · · Score: 1

      "Makes for an excellent party trick ;)"

      I just remembered: I'm not going to be able to make it to that one party you invited me to the other day. I've got a previous um engagement that I just remembered

      --
      My turnips listen for the soft cry of your love
    21. Re:Pringles cans suck. by aliquis · · Score: 1

      Now of to google "build your own masturbation device pringles can."

    22. Re:Pringles cans suck. by wooferhound · · Score: 1

      and the chips keep getting smaller, but the can size makes you think you are getting the same amount

      --
      We are Dead Stars looking back Up at the Sky
    23. Re:Pringles cans suck. by AmaranthineNight · · Score: 1

      You mean so that you can tilt the can upside down to open the other end while the chips slide towards the top?

    24. Re:Pringles cans suck. by drsquare · · Score: 2, Insightful

      If your hand is small enough to fit into a Pringles can, then you must be a midget.

    25. Re:Pringles cans suck. by Trespass · · Score: 1

      Hmmm... I wonder what flavoer Dr. Baur was buried in... 'Original', I would think.
    26. Re:Pringles cans suck. by Workaphobia · · Score: 1

      PEBFAC (Problem Exists Between Food and Chair).

      --
      Evidently, the key to understanding recursion is to begin by understanding recursion. The rest is easy.
    27. Re:Pringles cans suck. by bumby · · Score: 1

      Exactly! It was meant as a joke, but some how it was modded "Insightful", funny.

      --
      Hey! That's my sig you're smoking there!
    28. Re:Pringles cans suck. by perpetual+pessimist · · Score: 1

      And it's next to impossible to fit a body in one, believe me. That's why blenders have a "Purée" setting.

    29. Re:Pringles cans suck. by jslarve · · Score: 1

      Use your tongue, like everyone else.

    30. Re:Pringles cans suck. by Dzimas · · Score: 1

      Yes. All the crumbs in the bottom that "settled during handling" come flying out and make a gigantic mess.

    31. Re:Pringles cans suck. by skeeto · · Score: 1

      "If your hand is too big to fit in the Pringles can, you should stop eating them. " Yes, for heaven's sake, stop eating your hands.

      Can't you read? He wasn't eating his hands. He was eating the Pringles cans.

    32. Re:Pringles cans suck. by Laurence0 · · Score: 1
      Or you invert it over your mouth, so the crumbs fall into your mouth.

      Omnomnomnomnom...

    33. Re:Pringles cans suck. by NuclearWessel · · Score: 1

      Sometimes you gotta let those hard-to-reach chips go.

    34. Re:Pringles cans suck. by satoshi1 · · Score: 1

      Hey, it's good logic.

    35. Re:Pringles cans suck. by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      You don't want to do that. Pringles tend to have a high slip resistance, but when they are in motion, they won't stop. You don't want to end up with a mouth full of Pringles that can develop rather sharp corners when cracked while sideways in your mouth.

      And you don't want to know why I know that.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    36. Re:Pringles cans suck. by vandelais · · Score: 1

      All your crumbs are belong to us.

      --
      Game: Player 'Donald J Trump' now has AI skill level 'experimental'.
    37. Re:Pringles cans suck. by vandelais · · Score: 1

      I feel your pain. I too have problems with my hands swelling after excessive amounts of masterbation. Once you pop, you can't stop.
      --
      Game: Player 'Donald J Trump' now has AI skill level 'experimental'.
    38. Re:Pringles cans suck. by lena_10326 · · Score: 1

      If you have 2 fingers surgically removed, I'm sure you could fit your hand in the Pringles can. I hear it's the new rage.

      --
      Camping on quad since 1996.
    39. Re:Pringles cans suck. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, he really bates his master, you insensitive clod!

    40. Re:Pringles cans suck. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Get a condom or latex glove.
      Roll it up in either a towel or pack it in pillow stuffing, open end out.
      Insert this into the pringles can. Stretch the open end of the condom or glove around the can. Adjust packing tightness to satisfaction.
      Have some hand lotion prepared in a bath of hot water. Squirt this lube into the glove.

      Enjoy!

    41. Re:Pringles cans suck. by Knick-Knack · · Score: 1

      I was surprised by the fact that the designer of the Pringles can was male.
      Women can get their hands in. I thought it was a sinister trick to ensure only a woman can eat the bottom half of the can.

    42. Re:Pringles cans suck. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      that's because you're a fat shit. Lose some weight and you should be able to stick your sausage fingers in the can to reach those last 10 desirable chips you obese retard.

    43. Re:Pringles cans suck. by MikTheUser · · Score: 1

      They make excellent cheap Darth Vader voice modulators! Try speaking into an empty one with your best James Earl Jones impression to do a Darth Vader. Take the plastic foil off of the bottom of a pack of cigarettes, insert your index and middle finger and spread the foil, press against your mouth and speak agitated German - Tadaa, imitation of the 1936 Olympic Games opening ceremony broadcast (or any radio show with our favorite Austrian dictator).
    44. Re:Pringles cans suck. by mattack2 · · Score: 1

      Duhh, read the net weight on the can (and/or price/oz on the shelf). Though it amuses me how the various flavors of Pringles have slightly different amounts in their respective cans. IIRC, it's like 5 5/8 oz to a little over 6 oz. It doesn't seem like a cost for ingredients level issue either.

    45. Re:Pringles cans suck. by Your.Master · · Score: 1

      Good way to get crumbs everywhere.

    46. Re:Pringles cans suck. by SoupIsGoodFood_42 · · Score: 1

      Never had that problem before. Perhaps I just have m4d pr1ng3ls sk1llz or something? I only buy them occasionally.

  3. Try something different by Pasajero · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    Container might be good, but the product sucks. Go get some Sabritas instead.

    1. Re:Try something different by aliquis · · Score: 1

      But I'd like a product which suck.

      Look at the Tenga Super Sucking, there you have a "can" which really suck:
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7vUUv7kzWU (Some idiot have moderated it not suitable for minors so the link won't work unless you can login or embed it somewhere.)

      The product are only supposed to be used one time though, may be ok for the average Slashdoter since it's still a huge improvement, but for most men it won't cut it. Tenga do have other men covered with the flip hole instead:
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jV9surmlxnQ

      (No, this isn't Slashvertisment, I don't work for Tenga or a company which sell the products, fuck I don't even work. And I haven't bought a Tenga, I got Fleshlight products instead, the flip hole wasn't released back then. It makes me curious though :D)

  4. Popped by theurge14 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Once you croak, you must stop.

    1. Re:Popped by phagstrom · · Score: 1

      Can it!

    2. Re:Popped by doyoulikeworms · · Score: 1

      I hope this saying holds true to your attempts at humor...

    3. Re:Popped by Wowsers · · Score: 1

      He couldn't stop, so he popped.

      --
      Take Nobody's Word For It.
    4. Re:Popped by Justin+Hopewell · · Score: 1

      I just have to chime in to say this is the funniest comment on the page. Not that the others aren't funny, too, but this one takes the cake for me for some reason.

    5. Re:Popped by lena_10326 · · Score: 1

      but this one takes the cake for me for some reason.
      Neah.. it takes the chip.

      --
      Camping on quad since 1996.
  5. one advantage by nerdonamotorcycle · · Score: 5, Funny

    At least he'll be able to get good wi-fi.

    1. Re:one advantage by StarfishOne · · Score: 3, Funny

      This isn't a "cantenna"! This is a "cancasket" :O

    2. Re:one advantage by StarfishOne · · Score: 2, Funny


      Oh, forgive me Lords of Pun and Wordplay, but with seeing the username "doyoulikeworms (1094003)" being" listed above... I just wonder if I just opened up a "can of worms"? :O

      Ok, on a more serious note: thank you for the design Mr. Baur!

    3. Re:one advantage by 3seas · · Score: 1

      The first thing I thought, without reading the article,was what did he die of? Focused Wifi beams?

    4. Re:one advantage by StarfishOne · · Score: 1

      Hmm.. like the Undernet IRC network?

      (Sorry, sorry for my replies.. despite its seriousness, this new item just has too many options for playful comments.)

    5. Re:one advantage by AikonMGB · · Score: 2, Funny

      Too bad he wasn't an evil mastermind, then we could say that he was "going to Hell in cancasket."

    6. Re:one advantage by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It reach all the way to the afterlife too.

      BTW My wireless router is name "Hell's Gate".

    7. Re:one advantage by LowlyWorm · · Score: 1

      It could be.

      --
      Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.
    8. Re:one advantage by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's actually a "canurn."

    9. Re:one advantage by Vegeta99 · · Score: 1

      RE: Your Sig...

      I always thought waterboarding sounded fun, like I dunno, some kind of surfing (hey, I'm from central PA)... until someone told me what it was!

  6. The important question is... by Rakshasa+Taisab · · Score: 1

    What flavor of Pringles?

    --
    - These characters were randomly selected.
    1. Re:The important question is... by TitusC3v5 · · Score: 1

      Original, of course.

      --
      And the masses cried out, "09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0!"
    2. Re:The important question is... by NeuroManson · · Score: 2, Funny

      To paraphrase Monty Python's Albatross sketch, "What blooming flavor? He's bloody dead bloody corpse bloody flavor!".

      --
      Just because you can mod me down, doesn't mean you're right. Shoes for industry!
    3. Re:The important question is... by splorp! · · Score: 1

      Mmmmmm... Sour Cream & Onion-flavored Pringles can creator ashes...

      --
      Please don't humanize the morons around me. It makes me very uncomfortable.
    4. Re:The important question is... by lena_10326 · · Score: 2, Funny

      Original, of course.
      He was cremated.. so I'd say BBQ.

      --
      Camping on quad since 1996.
  7. It could have been worse by nobodyman · · Score: 5, Funny

    He developed many products, including frying oils and a freeze-dried ice cream, for P&G... But the Pringles can was his proudest accomplishment...

    Let's just be thankful he was so proud of the pringles can. I'm uncomfortable with the thought of him being freeze-dried or, even worse, fried.
    1. Re:It could have been worse by vidarh · · Score: 3, Interesting

      You wouldn't like this then. A Swedish company is offering freeze drying of corpses as a more environmentally friendly alternative to cremation.

    2. Re:It could have been worse by ABasketOfPups · · Score: 1

      I would be in no way stunned to find out the normal contents of a Pringles can were in fact, freeze dried, then fried, before being stamped into the same shape and stacked.

    3. Re:It could have been worse by blackest_k · · Score: 5, Informative

      well if you really want to know, essentially pringles are reconstituted potato similar to instant mash. If I remember right its mainly dried potato powder and oil. A dough is made up which gets squeezed to the right thickness on a belt and then a roller cookie cuts the pringles out and the unused dough goes back into the hopper and is rolled out again. they are then fried, flavor added, and canned.

      The recipe is all important since it controls both the flavor and the curve of the pringles. A big problem is that if they curve too much then you cant fit enough in a can (the machine couldn't handle bigger cans) and if the recipe was adjusted to make them flatter then the product tastes like cardboard.

      It was a pretty cool machine to see in action.

      things like quavers and wotsits are fried potato starch, without flavor they are like chewing on packing beads.

      and finally low fat crisps are identical to regular crisps in every way right up to the flavor station where a lower fat flavor is added.

    4. Re:It could have been worse by Gordonjcp · · Score: 4, Funny

      things like quavers and wotsits are fried potato starch, without flavor they are like chewing on packing beads.

      You actually get corn and potato starch packing peanuts. Why vermin don't eat them during shipping I don't know - you'd think it would be a perfect growth medium for insects. The cats love them though - "Oh hai, you haz a new gearbox? I help you unpack it then! NOM NOM NOM"

    5. Re:It could have been worse by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      Some people say freeze-drying is better for the environment, compared to cremation.

      http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/newsnight/2007/04/ill_compost_your_corpse_1.html

    6. Re:It could have been worse by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Umm WTF is a crisp???

    7. Re:It could have been worse by blackest_k · · Score: 1

      english for a chip
      an english chip is kind of a french fry but thicker

    8. Re:It could have been worse by kestasjk · · Score: 1

      How is that more environmentally friendly? Please tell me this isn't about CO2 reduction.

      The most environmentally friendly corpse removal thing I've heard of is mulching. Soil is nature's pringles can.

      --
      // MD_Update(&m,buf,j);
    9. Re:It could have been worse by Mr.+Roadkill · · Score: 1

      without flavor they are like chewing on packing beads

      A number of different kinds of biodegradeable packing beads are made from things like starch and bran and stuff like that, and I hear it can be fun to dust a bowl full of them with chicken salt and leave them out where drunken friends can find them.
    10. Re:It could have been worse by Rastan_B2 · · Score: 1

      I was talking to someone last weekend who writes the manuals for the massive industrial machines they use to create chips and I found it interesting that pringles are made up out of the crumbs that fall from the other chips when they are being made...

    11. Re:It could have been worse by eastlight_jim · · Score: 1

      Call me a pedant but that isn't freeze drying. It's just freezing in liquid nitrogen and breaking into a fine powder (because the frozen body is fragile).

      Proper freeze drying involved placing the frozen item under a vacuum (below the pressure of the triple point of water, 612Pa) and applying gentle heat. The item will remain frozen (see this phase diagram of water) and water is driven off by sublimation and condensed on a cold trap (usually at least -60C) leaving a completely dry item (be it a scientific sample, food item or body).

  8. The first question that popped into my head was... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...who had the fun of eating the pringles out of the can before the, uh, interment?

  9. Once you pop, you can't stop by wilsoniya · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...until you drop (dead).

    --
    I can't remember the last time I forgot anything.
    1. Re:Once you pop, you can't stop by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

      I always wondered why the tube were resealable if you can't stop, there shouldn't be any need really.

    2. Re:Once you pop, you can't stop by inKubus · · Score: 1

      I've often wondered along the same lines. Take for instance "Equal". What is it "Equal" to? If it's equal to sugar, should they just call it "sugar"?

      And what's up with Ovaltine? The jar is round, the label's round, the glass is round.. they should call it Round-tine.

      etc.

      --
      Cool! Amazing Toys.
    3. Re:Once you pop, you can't stop by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Jerry Seinfeld? Is that You?

  10. It was a good design... by lpangelrob · · Score: 2, Informative

    ...much better than the ubiquitous aluminum foil bag that chips now come in, which is 50 to 70% air (by design, so the chips don't smash each other in transit).

    That said, my hands are large enough that I usually can't reach the bottom 20% of the can. If they widened the Pringles can design so that my hands could reach the lingering chips on the bottom, that'd make my decade.

    1. Re:It was a good design... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "That said, my hands are large enough that I usually can't reach the bottom 20% of the can. If they widened the Pringles can design so that my hands could reach the lingering chips on the bottom, that'd make my decade."

      Sometimes you just have to let the hard to reach ones go.

    2. Re:It was a good design... by Target+Practice · · Score: 1

      That said, my hands are large enough that I usually can't reach the bottom 20% of the can. If they widened the Pringles can design so that my hands could reach the lingering chips on the bottom, that'd make my decade.

      Yes, but that would make it less entertaining to watch people try to reach the bottom 20% of the can. That's up to two solid decades of humor for me, and counting!

      --
      There's a 68.71% chance you're right.
    3. Re:It was a good design... by B3ryllium · · Score: 4, Funny

      Ah, so you're suggesting that they need to adjust for inflation ... of the American population. :)

    4. Re:It was a good design... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

      Yeah 75% gas, not "air". It's nitrogen in the can before you tear the seal, they stay frsh forever.

    5. Re:It was a good design... by TubeSteak · · Score: 1

      That said, my hands are large enough that I usually can't reach the bottom 20% of the can. If they widened the Pringles can design so that my hands could reach the lingering chips on the bottom, that'd make my decade. There was no innovation or competition in the field of pringles-shaped cans for chips for the longest time, since they had a patent on the concept.

      That included triangular, square, rectangular, etc shaped cans.
      It's only recently that anyone other than Proctor and Gamble was able to stack chips in a can.
      --
      [Fuck Beta]
      o0t!
    6. Re:It was a good design... by Plutonite · · Score: 1

      Please see comment further up in the thread, in which poster suggests tilting the can.

    7. Re:It was a good design... by MichaelSmith · · Score: 4, Funny

      they stay frsh forever. Typing with your mouth full?
    8. Re:It was a good design... by Fumus · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Interestingly, a very similar idea is used to trap monkeys without harming them. They put a long hollow tube attached to the ground and put some food in it. The monkeys put their hand in there and once they grab the food they can't squeeze their fist back through the tube. Most of the time they won't let go of the food, thus keeping themselves trapped.

    9. Re:It was a good design... by Vectronic · · Score: 1

      The can is definitly a better use of space.

      But the bag, uses about the same amount of plastic as the cap of a pringles can, so there is much less waste, and is cheaper to produce.

      Although the can can be used again, it rarely is, especially by people who eat Pringles often.

    10. Re:It was a good design... by Joe+Jay+Bee · · Score: 1

      That said, my hands are large enough that I usually can't reach the bottom 20% of the can.

      That's by design, as a sort of dosing mechanism. The idea is if you can't fit your hand in the can, you've had enough Pringles.

    11. Re:It was a good design... by Samgilljoy · · Score: 1

      The can is definitly a better use of space. But the bag, uses about the same amount of plastic as the cap of a pringles can, so there is much less waste, and is cheaper to produce. Although the can can be used again, it rarely is, especially by people who eat Pringles often.

      Well, the point of the can design originally was to ship larger amounts of chips in less space. So, perhaps the bag is cheaper to produce, but you have to factor in lower fuel costs for shipping, not to mention savings on cardboard and the like, since you want need so many boxes.

    12. Re:It was a good design... by aliquis · · Score: 1

      But wouldn't that make you stop?

    13. Re:It was a good design... by Vectronic · · Score: 1

      "Lower Feul Costs"

      But about a third of the total weight is the Pringle Can, so you might be able to fit more in the same space, that same space weighs more, adding to the cost of feul needed. Takes more energy to move a Pringles can with 200 chips, than a fluffy bag with 200 chips.

      As for boxes, if you have a 3x3 foot box with 300 fluffy bags, that same box wouldnt be able to carry 600 pringles cans unless it was made thicker, used more tape, etc. So you might have to use 2 smaller boxes carryign 300 each, which is actually more carboard than the single larger box, plus the carboard in the pringles can.

      Plus the additional costs of manufacturing (which inclues shipping the carboard and metal used in the can, aswell as its pre-processing)

      There is a reason why Pringles are like $1.50, when you can get twice the amount of chips for the same price in a fluffy bag. (albeit broken and such)

    14. Re:It was a good design... by siride · · Score: 1

      I don't know why you chose to take his correctly spelled "fuel" and then misspell it in the quote and in your own text. Baffling.

    15. Re:It was a good design... by Vectronic · · Score: 1

      It was not a direct quote, just the topic of response, hence capitalisation.

      "...lower fuel costs..."

      Is what i would have used if I was directly quoting.

      and just to help you out...

      "Fuel", misspelled twice. (and will continue to be many many times in the rest of my life)
      "Carrying", misspelled once.
      "Includes", misspelled once.

      Missing Apostrophe, once.
      Uncapitalizes Name, twice.
      Other Missing Punctuation, thrice.
      Use of "like" instead of more appropriate word, once.

    16. Re:It was a good design... by aix+tom · · Score: 1

      Sometimes, you just have to let those hard to reach chips go. -- Dante Hicks.

    17. Re:It was a good design... by Gewalt · · Score: 1

      I would have modded you insightful, if it weren't for the fact that everything you said is wrong.

      --
      Modding Trolls +1 inciteful since 1999
    18. Re:It was a good design... by kestasjk · · Score: 1

      Yes but think about the volume of the pack related to the product within. What about the environmental costs about shipping that extra volume around?

      I just want to kill myself every time I eat a bag of potato chips that wasn't prepared with the environment in mind.

      --
      // MD_Update(&m,buf,j);
    19. Re:It was a good design... by mattack2 · · Score: 1

      The Pringles can tops don't have a recycling # on them (at least the ones I've seen), so they can't be recycled. (Obviously regular potato chip bags can't either.)

  11. Pringle's Can? Boring! by elnico · · Score: 5, Funny

    You should have seen what Felix Klein was buried in.

    1. Re:Pringle's Can? Boring! by sam_v1.35b · · Score: 4, Informative

      From wikipedia: a certain non-orientable surface, i.e., a surface ... with no distinct "inner" and "outer" sides So, technically, he wasn't buried *in* it :)

    2. Re:Pringle's Can? Boring! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You obviously haven't read the news yet. He requested burial in said container, but the company hired to produce the container is still failing to produce a successful model. The SBIR grant for it was unfortunately indefinite and black budget, unfortunately they were too embarrassed to disclose the solicitation publicly and so the CIA was created to bury the projects finances in something equally dubious.

    3. Re:Pringle's Can? Boring! by MagdJTK · · Score: 4, Funny

      I don't know why people can't just stick to the simple. Use a box, like Erwin Schrödinger used!

    4. Re:Pringle's Can? Boring! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > You should have seen what Felix Klein was buried in.

      In...???

    5. Re:Pringle's Can? Boring! by martin-boundary · · Score: 1

      They actually had to duct tape him on it, as he kept falling out.

    6. Re:Pringle's Can? Boring! by DarkOx · · Score: 1

      How do you know he was burried in it rather then outside it?

      --
      Repeal the 17th Amendment TODAY! Also Please Read http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/right-to-read.html
    7. Re:Pringle's Can? Boring! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Does that count though? He was buried both inside and outside the bottle simultaneously...

  12. Flavor? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It bears the question, what flavor of Pringles was the can?

    1. Re:Flavor? by satoshi1 · · Score: 1

      Cardboard flavor.

  13. Environmental Impact by bazald · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I remember visiting a recycling center when I was in elementary school. One particular item that they picked on as being very difficult to recycle was the Pringles can. A bizarre combination of metal, cardboard, and plastic, it is almost impossible for them to get the components apart.

    So, no thanks for failing to consider the environmental impact of your design.

    --
    Insert self-referential sig here.
    1. Re:Environmental Impact by owlnation · · Score: 2, Funny

      So, no thanks for failing to consider the environmental impact of your design.
      That's unfair. The Pringles can is robust enough to be used for many other purposes. Who says you need to throw it away? Just because unthinking Joe Sixpack decides to throw something out doesn't make it the fault of the designer.
    2. Re:Environmental Impact by Scruffy+Dan · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Actually it does. Designers should realize what the general public (aka: unthinking Joe Sixpack) will do with their products, not what some idealized consumer will do. Also while I don't eat that many pringles (no more than 5 cans a year at most) I can't figure out what to so with that many cans.

      --
      Just another crappy blog
    3. Re:Environmental Impact by NeuroManson · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Yeah, I recall something along those lines, building a long range wi-fi antenna with a Pringles can, right?

      --
      Just because you can mod me down, doesn't mean you're right. Shoes for industry!
    4. Re:Environmental Impact by 1u3hr · · Score: 1
      So, no thanks for failing to consider the environmental impact of your design.

      I think the health impact of a "food" consisting of fat, starch, salt and chemical flavourings was probably worse.

    5. Re:Environmental Impact by d0mokun · · Score: 1

      I think that overshoots the point a bit.. the can designer isn't going to take into account what the end product is made of- his job is to design the packaging. Not the food.

    6. Re:Environmental Impact by felipekk · · Score: 1

      He invented it almost 50 years ago, when people weren't that worried with global warming and the environment. This, of course, cannot be used as an excuse for them to keep using a container that is not environmental friendly. Just don't blame the creator, ok?

    7. Re:Environmental Impact by evilviper · · Score: 1

      One particular item that they picked on as being very difficult to recycle was the Pringles can. A bizarre combination of metal, cardboard, and plastic, it is almost impossible for them to get the components apart.

      It's pretty unfair to single out Pringles, when juice boxes have the exact same drawbacks. Besides, it's not like traditional potato chip bags are exactly a joy for recyclers...

      Not to mention that "recyclable" isn't the be-all, end-all. If some form of packaging is effective enough, it can be counterproductive to shun it. Besides, recycling technology advances every year.
      --
      Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
    8. Re:Environmental Impact by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They've been moving to straight plastic tubes, lately. Maybe not much better, but at least its something resembling an effort...

    9. Re:Environmental Impact by Ethan+Allison · · Score: 1

      When were you in elementary school? 10 years ago? 20? 3?

    10. Re:Environmental Impact by khallow · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Recycling is the classic example of why just because you can do something doesn't mean that you should do it. Even if one ignores the difficulties of seperating the components of a Pringle's can, I doubt there's anything in a Pringle's can that is worth recycling now much less then. Nor do I see the point to making the can out of something more recyclable. More goods are wasted with shoddy packaging. More time is wasted when people have to sort trash so that some money-losing recycling center can pretend to save the environment and landfill space.

    11. Re:Environmental Impact by Valacosa · · Score: 1

      It's why I feel guilty buying Pringles here. The recycling guys won't even pick the cans up.

      --
      "Live as if you'll die tomorrow." Ridiculous. You could die later today.
    12. Re:Environmental Impact by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      http://eteam.ncpa.org/commentaries/recycling-is-a-waste

      http://mises.org/story/1911

      or not.

    13. Re:Environmental Impact by 1u3hr · · Score: 1
      I think that overshoots the point a bit

      What point was that? The product is completey unnecessary and negative in impact. It harms the consumer's (in the most literal way) health, and the package being celebrated harms the environment. There isn't one good thing about this. (Sure, you can make a wifi antenna out of the can. That will use about .001% of them.)

      Yet the inventors are being congratulated for this product that contributes to the prematire deaths of thousands every year.

    14. Re:Environmental Impact by Eudial · · Score: 1

      I remember visiting a recycling center when I was in elementary school. One particular item that they picked on as being very difficult to recycle was the Pringles can. A bizarre combination of metal, cardboard, and plastic, it is almost impossible for them to get the components apart.

      So, no thanks for failing to consider the environmental impact of your design. Dude! It was invented in the 1970s! Thinking of the environment wasn't invented back then!
      --
      GAAH! MY PRINTER IS ON FIRE!!! PUT IT OUT! PUT IT OUT!
    15. Re:Environmental Impact by bloodninja · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Just because unthinking Joe Sixpack decides to throw something out doesn't make it the fault of the designer. Actually, it does. The designer should be aware that the product will continue to exist even after it's intended purpose is fulfilled. But according to TFS the Pringles can was designed in 19fucking70. Nobody was thinking about recycling back then. The irresponsibility of the current design lays with Pringles, who have not changed the almost-40 year old design in light of current knowledge.
      --
      Lock the wife and the dog in the boot of the car.
      Return one hour later.
      Who's happy to see you?
    16. Re:Environmental Impact by seventhc · · Score: 0

      actually, 1970 was less than 40 years ago, wow, I finally found someone who sucks at math more than I do. ;)

      --
      'sig' deleted due to the stupidity of it's 'nature'
    17. Re:Environmental Impact by Gryle · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Clean 'em out and use 'em to store other foods.

      --
      Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not entirely sure about the universe - Einstein
    18. Re:Environmental Impact by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why does everything have to be about the environment? I swear there are people out there that just sit, 24/7, and think about their effect on the environment. Holy shit, I just breathed out, how will that affect the environment? OMGZ, I just thought about my effect on the environment, speeding up the chemical reactions in my brain as a I shit myself in fear and thus produce adrenaline! What effect will that have on the environment.

      Personally I'd rather have tasty chips than a tree, and I'd rather live my life than spend it with warm nutty shit dribbling down my legs in fear that I might wake up to a dead, barren world of heat and death if I dare eat a fucking Pringle. Get over yourself and stop being such a pretentious fucking prick, 'kay?

    19. Re:Environmental Impact by Jeff+DeMaagd · · Score: 2, Interesting

      You say that as if inexpensively protecting food and package recycling are mutually exclusive ideals.

    20. Re:Environmental Impact by uniquegeek · · Score: 1

      Even so, we all really really want a can of Pringles right now, don't we?

    21. Re:Environmental Impact by rcw-home · · Score: 1

      A bizarre combination of metal, cardboard, and plastic, it is almost impossible for them to get the components apart.

      I don't think we're that far away from finding microbes that like to eat the plastic and the cardboard, leaving the metal.

      Maybe we can start by breeding Pringles' customers.

    22. Re:Environmental Impact by brunes69 · · Score: 1

      The point he is trying to make is this. Comapre a 200g pringles can to a 200G bag of chips. See the size difference? Now imagine how many of these can fit in a transport truck. Pringles packaging takes about 1/8th the space, so you can transport 8 times as much, and use 1/8 the carbon to transport it. Not to mention the warehouse space, etc.

      There is more to the environmental impact of product packaging than the raw materials.

    23. Re:Environmental Impact by khallow · · Score: 1

      Well those are conflicting goals. Some things are worth recycling like aluminum and there's no trouble recycling them. I can see some sort of argument for waste stream reduction. In places with expensive land, waste stream recycling can be economically viable. So places like Hong Kong or Germany might be able to justify recycling on those grounds. Mind you, shipping garbage to a cheaper location might be cheaper than recycling virtually everything.

      But the original argument was that there was some sort of environmental benefit to recycling. Certainly for toxic metals like lead, mercury, or cadmium, such an argument makes sense. But for paper, glass, and plastics, it does not. The worst you get is some methane seepage and some inert stuff that might last geologically significantly lengths of time.

    24. Re:Environmental Impact by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If tires can be recycled why can't a Pringles can?

        Tires have steel wires inside them besides natural and artificial rubber, the tire is chopped up and the metal is removed by a magnet or a centrifuge.

    25. Re:Environmental Impact by 0racle · · Score: 1

      "food" consisting of fat, starch, salt
      Yes, death to natural ingredients.
      --
      "I use a Mac because I'm just better than you are."
    26. Re:Environmental Impact by 1u3hr · · Score: 1
      "food" consisting of fat, starch, salt
      Yes, death to natural ingredients.

      Yep. Smoke some natural tobacco, while you're at it. Natural must be healthy, right?

    27. Re:Environmental Impact by 0racle · · Score: 1

      Ah, comparing tobacco to staples of life are we? I'd love to see you actually try to cut out all fat, carbohydrates and salt out of your diet.

      Also, casual smoking of straight tobacco (for example, not a commercial cigarette) would most likely do you no harm.

      --
      "I use a Mac because I'm just better than you are."
    28. Re:Environmental Impact by 1u3hr · · Score: 1
      Ah, comparing tobacco to staples of life are we

      You said "natural" Now you're talking "staples". regardl;ess, Pringles and such are unhealthy junk food. Sugar is a "natural staple". Eat a few pounds of that a week and see how healthy you are.

      Also, casual smoking of straight tobacco (for example, not a commercial cigarette) would most likely do you no harm.

      My mother rolled her own cigarettes. She died of lung cancer. But that's just an anecdote, feel free to ignore it.

    29. Re:Environmental Impact by mattack2 · · Score: 1

      Umm, the environmental benefits are that
      (1) you can cut down fewer trees (for the cardboard or other paper products)
      (2) you don't have to mine as much aluminum
      (3) you don't use as much oil creating (in terms of raw materials) the plastic parts
      (4) you don't use as much energy/oil to create the above products (i.e. run factories)

      Glass was one of the first things recycled, so it must be better to recycle it too. (Savings based upon having to not get new silica?)

    30. Re:Environmental Impact by mattack2 · · Score: 1
    31. Re:Environmental Impact by khallow · · Score: 1

      1) Trees are a renewable resource, 2) Aluminum is one of the things I allow is worth recycling, 3) Plastic makes up a small portion of the consumption of oil, about 80% gets burned as fuel in the US, 4) I don't buy this. Sure you can find impressive claims for energy conservation (40% for recycled paper, 50% for recycled glass), but it ignores several crucial things. First, we ignore real world recycling efficiency. How much of the recycling stream ends up in the landfill anyway? Second, we ignore the energy and time cost of collecting and sorting the materials. Getting what I gather are hundreds of millions of people to sort their trash and get that trash collected by specialized vehicles doesn't strike me as remotely efficient. And of course, energy (and to a lesser extent oil) is cheap, consuming peoples' time is not.

      In summary, I think the true impact of recycling programs is that it allows municipalities to transfer the cost of garbage disposal to their residents. The net environmental benefit isn't that impressive (assuming it actually exists).

  14. Someone had to say it... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    "I think Pringles' initial intention was to make tennis balls. But on the day that the rubber was supposed to show up, a big truckload of potatoes arrived. But Pringles was a laid-back company. They said "Fuck it. Cut 'em up."

    -Mitch Hedberg

    1. Re:Someone had to say it... by A+Pancake · · Score: 1, Offtopic

      Mitch Hedberg was awesome.

    2. Re:Someone had to say it... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That was my first thought after hearing this story.

    3. Re:Someone had to say it... by jez9999 · · Score: 1

      They don't cut the potatoes up. They mash them and then make the Pringles out of that. :-P

    4. Re:Someone had to say it... by Albert+Sandberg · · Score: 1

      Did you hear that? That was the joke running by your head :-)

    5. Re:Someone had to say it... by wooferhound · · Score: 1

      Was it really that hard to relabel a Tennis Ball can ?

      --
      We are Dead Stars looking back Up at the Sky
    6. Re:Someone had to say it... by hobbit · · Score: 1

      I think he probably understood the joke. He just thought it didn't deserve to be treated like one.

      --
      "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something" - Plato
    7. Re:Someone had to say it... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0


      First thing I thought of when I saw this story as well.

  15. a patent for storing stuff in a cylinder? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So patent abuse isn't a recent thing, then.

    I guess by "proudest achievement" he either means that it's the only patent the layperson understands or it's the one that made him the most money. As a mathematician I'd be glassed with a Klein bottle if I sounded all "hai guys i hav a gr8 idea" and that idea was fitting stuff in a cylinder. Neighbo(u)rhoods of saddle points, even.

    1. Re:a patent for storing stuff in a cylinder? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A patent for storing 'stuff' in a cylinder is much different than a patent for storing columns of stackable potato chips in a cylinder. People had been fitting 'stuff' into cylinders for ages, but it probably wouldn't have happened for potato chips if someone didn't happen to think of it and try it out. If it had been obvious, everyone already would have been doing it and it wouldn't have been patentable.

    2. Re:a patent for storing stuff in a cylinder? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      LOL. That truly is hilarious. When I am faced with the thought of representing a potato chip, I'd approximate it as a cylinder, or perhaps ellipse. When I am faced with approximately circular flat objects the first thing I think of is storage in a cylinder. We're talking middle school "mathematical modeling" exercises here. The reasons not to use a cylinder for packing potato chips are that packaging is expensive and wasteful, and that's why no-one did this before.

      Now, it turned out that the different shape marketed successfully. This was a stroke of marketing luck, not the result of some new design.

      (What is it with everything-is-property blowhards and ice cream? The first person I thought of was Thatcher, who was part of a team perfecting fluffy ice cream preservation before her spree of going nearly as far as privatising the air we breathe in the '80s.)

      captcha: autocrat

  16. Smarter than we give him credit for. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    (@Gunrun) Pringles are clever
    (@Gunrun) they're like... self regulating
    (@Gunrun) if you can't fit your hand into the tube to get more
    (@Gunrun) then you probably shouldn't be getting more anyway

  17. Re:FP by Tablizer · · Score: 3, Funny

    Do you "first post" trolls want to be buried in the first lot in the cemetery? You have to be the first dead, I hate to tell ya.

  18. Brazier by Tablizer · · Score: 5, Funny

    So that guy who invented the bra...

    Steve Jobs in a Mac?

    Bill Gates squashed into a floppy? He'll at least be "micro" and "soft".

    1. Re:Brazier by Opportunist · · Score: 3, Funny

      You miss the important thing. He'll at least be dead.

      Ok, that was uncalled for. I'd already be happy if his company died.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    2. Re:Brazier by servognome · · Score: 4, Funny

      Linus Torvalds in an open casket so you can dig through the source

      --
      D6 63 0D 70 89 81 BB 8E 7B 7C 5F 5D 54 EA AB 73
    3. Re:Brazier by Tablizer · · Score: 1

      Linus Torvalds in an open casket so you can dig through the source

      Hell, that vision alone is making me switch back to Vista.

    4. Re:Brazier by Tablizer · · Score: 5, Funny

      Linus Torvalds in an open casket so you can dig through the source

      But SCO claims an arm and a leg.

    5. Re:Brazier by onefriedrice · · Score: 2, Funny

      Better than Ballmer who will be cremated, mixed with lacquer, and applied to a chair.

      --
      This author takes full ownership and responsibility for the unpopular opinions outlined above.
    6. Re:Brazier by dgun · · Score: 1

      You miss the important thing. He'll at least be dead.

      And in the 9th ring of hell. Amen.

      --
      FAQs are evil.
    7. Re:Brazier by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Bill Gates squashed into a floppy? He'll at least be "micro" and "soft". I think he already is. Just ask his wife. *ba-da-BOOM* Thanks, I'll be here all evening.
    8. Re:Brazier by illumastorm · · Score: 1

      So, the chair will be able to throw itself?

    9. Re:Brazier by Vectronic · · Score: 1

      Actually, thats a curious thought, I wonder what the ratio is between proprietary coders, and open source coders donating their body/organs for science/medical uses.

    10. Re:Brazier by _Shad0w_ · · Score: 1

      Given the 9th circle of hell is for traitors, I'm wondering who you think he's betrayed. Although I guess being frozen in a block of ice is kind of appropriate punishment for all those frozen Windows systems.

      --

      Yeah, I had a sig once; I got bored of it.

    11. Re:Brazier by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Brazier? I've heard of burning bras but, hey, burning your tits off? Ouch.

    12. Re:Brazier by bhtooefr · · Score: 1

      Holy crap, he just discovered a perpetual motion machine!

      That makes two! (The first being buttered toast on the back of a cat, of course. :P)

    13. Re:Brazier by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Bill Gates did not invent the floppy, or anything else for that matter...

      When bill gates is going to be buried in one of his inventions, he is going to be around for a long time :)

    14. Re:Brazier by ELTaNiN · · Score: 5, Funny

      Bill Gates' tomb will have windows so you can see the bugs inside...

    15. Re:Brazier by radimvice · · Score: 1

      Nah, even open casket is still too proprietary (look but don't touch). Linus would probably go with a full autopsy plus organ/cadaver donation, subject of course to a strict GPLv2 license to make sure his skin isn't bottled up and sold to be used for penis enlarging, for example.

    16. Re:Brazier by Sponge+Bath · · Score: 1

      /*
      * Tannenbaum is a penguin's bitch.
      * I have discovered a truly wonderful proof of this,
      * but 80 columns is too narrow to hold it.
      */

    17. Re:Brazier by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Linus != Stallman

    18. Re:Brazier by dgun · · Score: 1

      Given the 9th circle of hell is for traitors

      And one other.

      [church lady]

      I wonder who it could be...maybe....SATAN!!!! Well isn't that special.

      [/church lady]

      --
      FAQs are evil.
    19. Re:Brazier by _Shad0w_ · · Score: 1

      Strictly speaking Satan is in the 9th circle of hell, in the very centre. He is, after all, the arch-traitor. Brutus, Cassius and Judas are also there, being chewed on by one each of Satan's three heads.

      (There's 5 areas within the 9th circle, the first is for traitors to kin, the second is for the more conventional meaning of traitor, the third is for traitors to guests and the fourth is for traitors to superiors and benefactors. The fifth is the centre itself.

      --

      Yeah, I had a sig once; I got bored of it.

    20. Re:Brazier by dgun · · Score: 1

      Bill Gates is Satan. There. You made me say it.

      --
      FAQs are evil.
    21. Re:Brazier by mattack2 · · Score: 1

      No, that's what Bill's wife said on his wedding night.

      (Old joke, I first heard it on SNL IIRC.)

  19. Tags by taupin · · Score: 5, Funny

    > humor, death
    I don't know whether to laugh or cry!

    1. Re:Tags by extrasolar · · Score: 1

      Why? I want a humor death!

    2. Re:Tags by owlstead · · Score: 1

      Try laughing until you cry :)

    3. Re:Tags by FurtiveGlancer · · Score: 1

      It's my goal to die laughing, just not today.

      --
      Invenio via vel creo
  20. Troll by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Let's see ... starch ... good source of calories, a lot better for you and the environment then the amercian standard of beef. Vegetable oil, isntead of lard, probably a good thing; fat soluble minerals can't be absorbed without it. And, again, it's not cows, which are an environmental disaster. Satl, well, drink more water if you eat that much salt. Chemical flavorings ... ooh, scarry, you said "chemical" But, reading the can I have handy, it says peppers, vinegar, paprika and natural flavors. The "chemicals" are preservatives. Probably not good for you, but not as scarry as you make it sound. You, sir, are a retarded troll.

  21. Do you have Dr. Baur in a can? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0


    EOM

  22. Potential mistake by Tablizer · · Score: 5, Funny

    Grave Digger A: "Dude, all this digging is making me hungry. Let's hurry up so we can catch a sandwich or something."

    Digger B: "Hey, whatta coincidence. I just found a can of Pringles down here. Here ya go."

    Digger A: "Bleck, they're stale and crumbled. Hey, do you still have that Twinkie we found last week?"

    Digger B: "Yes, but I do have doubts that its really a Twinkie."

    Digger A: "You worry too much; hand it over."

  23. My wife was his real estate agent... by fractalrock · · Score: 1

    ...if I remember correctly. It has been a few years, but there was a few months when she talked about him (and, notably, his family). Not sure if she was buyer/seller agent or whatever but she got to know the guy fairly well.

    There are plenty of juicy details to tell, but I'm not fully awake and my memory is failing me. I wouldn't want to spread any non-factual gossip and rumors.

    I'll ask her tomorrow and repost.

    1. Re:My wife was his real estate agent... by MichaelSmith · · Score: 1

      The suspense is killing me.

    2. Re:My wife was his real estate agent... by felipekk · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      I wish I had mod points.

    3. Re:My wife was his real estate agent... by ABasketOfPups · · Score: 1

      Might as well get you into a Pringles can right now, then.

  24. All hail... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...the creator of cheap, directional wireless antennas!

  25. Not to be confused with ... by DrJimbo · · Score: 1

    ... Com-casket. Or Can-comstic.

    --
    We don't see the world as it is, we see it as we are.
    -- Anais Nin
  26. And how many have died? by LM741N · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    From the resultant "Pringles Syndrome" heart disease?

    Here is their Secret formula (shh, don't tell anyone): Take 1lb of lard, add 1 oz potato mash, fry, put in can, profit!!

    1. Re:And how many have died? by maxume · · Score: 1

      The good news is that Pringles have only killed people who eat Pringles.

      --
      Nerd rage is the funniest rage.
  27. Re:FP by joaommp · · Score: 1

    I think he meant what took so long to post this since Dr. Bauer's death which, like the article states, was at May 4th, and it's already June 1st.

  28. Bury him deep by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I hope they bury him deep, otherwise he may be used as a covert Pringles WIFI antenna

  29. Ahh so thats what it's for? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    you mean those things weren't designed as a means of propogating wifi?

  30. What is so special about it? by Fross · · Score: 1, Interesting

    The Pringles can never struck me as particularly good design - chips would still smash at the bottom, it was just a tube, and you can't even get your hand in to the bottom like a regular bag of chips, you need to tilt it and shower yourself in crumbs.

    Anyone mind giving some information on why it was supposedly so revolutionary and he would be so proud of it?

    1. Re:What is so special about it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Probably the air to chips ratio. Regular bags take up a lot more space because of the air inside, and packing them tightly is always a question of crushing.

      That said I never really liked Pringles, I like chips directly from potatoes rather than potato mash.

    2. Re:What is so special about it? by Chapter80 · · Score: 2, Interesting
      My mom was on the consumer test panel for Pringles before the product came out. So we got white ("generic") cans labeled "A" and "B" (or something like that) full of different Pringle mixes.

      She served them at a party as part of the test (logging people's feedback), and EVERYONE was blown away by this new, unconventional chip! It was like nothing anyone had ever seen before. (these were the days of "space age" products like "Tang".)

      Not that a cylinder can is particularly a good design. I think the chip itself is the genius part. We poured the chips into bowls, as well as a bagged chip (maybe Husman's, a local favorite), and the vast majority of the Pringles (er, Brand "A" and "B") were whole and the bowl was practically overflowing. The competitive brand, whose package was much bigger, were all crumbly and barely reached the top of the bowl.

      P&G invented a new class of product which became a huge seller over the years. Genius.

      As an aside, this was a much more pleasant test than some of the deodorant panels she volunteered for!

  31. Wikipedia article by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    His Wikipedia article is only pringle sized as well.

  32. Re:It was good Marketing by blackest_k · · Score: 1

    it's not really that good a design to be honest. For a start the packaging is a lot more expensive as is the machinery to pack it. The cans have to be shipped to the factory to be filled and obviously its quite a complex assembly.

    Compare this to the conventional bag plastic or aluminium its basically just a roll of film. The bag is formed as it is filled, as one is sealed it forms the bottom of the next packet in fact crisps are falling before there is actually a bag for them to go in. It's extremely fast and efficient and the mechanics are relatively simple.

    The pringles can is purely for marketing purposes, and it's expensive to produce in comparison to your regular bag.

    also the curve of the pringle determines how many fit in a can it's hard to get a mix which tastes good and fits in the can. The machine which fills the cans is limited to a maximum size 25% extra free can be a problem with larger sizes.
    for bagged crisps its largely a question of adjusting the desired weight and changing the weight marked on the bag.

    I would hazard a guess the can may cost more than the product.
    On the other hand as a marketing tool the can is great, it makes the product distinctive and allows a higher price.

    funny thing is crisps are made from fresh potato's and it is likely only a few hours from being in the field to being in a bag where pringles are from dried powdered potato which can be any age.

  33. ogligatory by jollyreaper · · Score: 5, Funny

    Cardiologist's Funeral

    A cardiologist died and was given an elaborate funeral attended by fellow physicians, family members, friends.... A huge heart covered in flowers stood behind the casket during the service. Following the eulogy, the heart opened, and the casket rolled inside. The heart then closed, sealing the doctor in the beautiful heart forever.

    At that point, one of the mourners burst into laughter. When all eyes stared at him, he said, "I'm sorry, I was just thinking of my own funeral ....I'm a gynecologist."

    That's when the proctologist fainted.

    --
    Kwisatz Haderach
    Sell the spice to CHOAM
    This Mahdi took Shaddam's Throne
    1. Re:ogligatory by tonytraductor · · Score: 1

      Cardiologist's Funeral A cardiologist died and was given an elaborate funeral attended by fellow physicians, family members, friends.... A huge heart covered in flowers stood behind the casket during the service. Following the eulogy, the heart opened, and the casket rolled inside. The heart then closed, sealing the doctor in the beautiful heart forever. At that point, one of the mourners burst into laughter. When all eyes stared at him, he said, "I'm sorry, I was just thinking of my own funeral ....I'm a gynecologist." That's when the proctologist fainted. That's the funniest comment here...
  34. He was cremated: by Tezcat · · Score: 5, Funny

    BBQ flavour.

  35. Wait a minute... by Cow+Jones · · Score: 2, Funny

    Part of his remains was buried in a Pringles can - along with a regular urn containing the rest...

    So... which part did they put into the Pringles can?
    I shudder to think.

    --

    Ah, arrogance and stupidity, all in the same package. How efficient of you. -- Londo Mollari
    1. Re:Wait a minute... by Guppy06 · · Score: 1

      3.) Have her open the can.

  36. What is this, bizarro Slashdot? by reidconti · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    An Ask Slashdot question where the person in question actually contacted experts directly to try to get his questions answered BEFORE asking slashdot?

  37. Re:FP by Tony+Hoyle · · Score: 4, Funny

    It took that long to chop him up into little pringle shaped slices.

  38. Good News, Everybody... by Viceroy+Potatohead · · Score: 1

    Now would be the perfect time to release my latest invention! I call it the "Finglonger"!!!

    No more trouble dealing with those pesky Pringles cans, and they also come in a stylish mauve colour.

  39. It has to be asked: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What flavor? Plain seems obvious, but who can resist the Cheez-Ums?

  40. Headline: Fredric J. Baur was canned today by stargazer_55 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Just goes to show you that even if you do a great job you'll someday get canned!

  41. !chips by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    Did you know that Pringles can't legally call themselves potato chips because what they're made of isn't potatoes, but processed potato paste? Lays handed them a false advertising lawsuit when Pringles started to move in on their turf once upon a time, so now they by law must call their product something other than potato chips like potato crisps.

    1. Re:!chips by billcopc · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      Yet another sign that the U.S. legal system has its head so far up its own ass, they found alien life.

      --
      -Billco, Fnarg.com
    2. Re:!chips by mattack2 · · Score: 1

      Do you have a citation for that? I did a bit of googling, but can't find proof (even wikipedia-level "proof"). This sounds vaguely urban legend-ish.

      At first I thought you might have been confusing the UK usage of 'crisps' vs 'chips', but you're not.

      In fact, one suit that I saw was one from P&G (maker of Pringles) against Lays for their "Stax", which are Pringles clones. (I didn't see whether there had been an outcome of the lawsuit.)

  42. Re:The first question that popped into my head was by Script+Cat · · Score: 1

    Funeral chips are creepy.

  43. The *old* cans by Guppy06 · · Score: 1

    "packaging Pringles in 1970."

    So not the newer ones with the peel-off paper top, but the ones with the aluminum can pull tab that left that lovely wrist-slicing edge after you opened it.

  44. The question is.. by polyp2000 · · Score: 1

    what flavour was the packet?

    I suppose barbeque might be appropriate seeing as he was cremated.

    N.

    --
    Electronic Music Made Using Linux http://soundcloud.com/polyp
  45. Re:FP by frosty_tsm · · Score: 1

    Funny, but ewww....

  46. Food storage technician by Dolphinzilla · · Score: 1

    I wonder if he worked on any non-nutritive cereal varnishes ?

  47. I knew they where addictive... by MindPrison · · Score: 1

    ...but they should at least put a warning on the box.

    --
    What this world is coming to - is for you and me to decide.
  48. Sittingbull by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What flavor BBQ?

  49. Soylent Plaid by Dr.+Cody · · Score: 1

    Almost. Didn't you ever wonder where all of their human-sheep hybrids go?

    1. Re:Soylent Plaid by dotancohen · · Score: 1

      Almost. Didn't you ever wonder where all of their human-sheep hybrids go? What kind of sex maniacs do you have on your farms?
      --
      It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.
  50. No picture? by Scuzzm0nkey · · Score: 1

    I really wanted to see the giant Pringles can. Also, was it an open-top funeral or was that freshness seal on? I'd go freshness seal in case he reanimates as a zombie since those things are hard as shit to get off. Ninja edit - wait, he was cremated

    --
    People are like slinkies; useless but fun to watch when you push them down the stairs
    1. Re:No picture? by assassinator42 · · Score: 1

      From the summary and article, it sounds like it was just a regular Pringles can.

  51. Isn't anyone else wondering this? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "Part of his remains was buried in a Pringles can - along with a regular urn containing the rest"

    Hmm, what body part(s) would fit into "a tube-shaped container designed to hold ... salty" snacks?

  52. Re:FP by gn0min0mic0n · · Score: 1

    I wonder which part of him was put inside the can.

    --
    What is understood, need not be discussed.
  53. Re:FP by Mr2cents · · Score: 1

    Just look at the article's icon. I even suspect there is a typo in "food storage technician".

    --
    "It's too bad that stupidity isn't painful." - Anton LaVey
  54. Did they stick an antanne in there as well? by Picass0 · · Score: 1

    And our departed loved one enters the great circle of free wifi...
    and he will deliver broadband for all time

  55. Smuggling beer in a Pringles Can by istartedi · · Score: 2, Informative

    True story. Parents weekend, 1987. Beer drinking in one room, parents in suite. Beer in fridge of other room. Turns out, two 12-oz cans fit perfectly in one empty Pringles can. Play it cool while walking across suite, hope nobody wants Pringles. It worked.

    --
    For all intensive purposes, "whom" is no longer a word. That begs the question, "who cares"?
    1. Re:Smuggling beer in a Pringles Can by ProfFalcon · · Score: 1

      Your sig:
      For all intensive purposes, "whom" is no longer a word. That begs the question, "who cares?"

      Damnit, man! That's going to cause my eye to twitch the rest of the day.

      --
      Simply stating [Citation Needed] does not automatically make you insightful or brilliant.
  56. Nothing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Absolutely nothing, as far as I can tell. The chips themselves are the "innovative" part; they're identical so they fit together very well, and fit into a tube very well, but the package is just a tube. Hardly revolutionary, and it won't work with anything that isn't designed specifically to fit it.

    If this guy was so proud of "inventing" a tube, I bet the guy who came up with "1-click ordering" expects to have a statue built after him.

    Maybe he also invented the shape of the actual chips?

    In any case, I'm pretty sure Bahlsen was making this kind of chips (not perfectly round, though, sort of oval) before Pringles. And those (Bahlsen Chipsletten) taste a lot better, too. But I still prefer real chips, sliced from real potatos.

  57. Re: thinking about recycling back then by zmollusc · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Now listen here, sonny. Both 'Stig of the dump' and 'The Wombles' predate 19fucking70, as do I. Now get OFF my DAMN lawn and get a haircut.

    --
    They whose government reduces their essential liberties for temporary security, receive neither liberty nor security.
  58. Isn't that backwards? by Dusty101 · · Score: 1

    Usually people cash in their chips *after* they get canned...

  59. random but slightly related by smaddox · · Score: 1

    New jingle for selling toilets:

    Once you poop, you can't stop.

  60. Re:FP by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    No, into dies. Haven't you read the headline?

    But did they can all those designer dies into one big can, or do you get a designer die with your Pringles if you're lucky?

  61. Re:FP by EkriirkE · · Score: 1

    Something long and cylindrical, but under 12 inches. hmmm...

    --
    from 09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0
    to 45 2F 6E 40 3C DF 10 71 4E 41 DF AA 25 7D 31 3F
  62. Potatoes? by okmijnuhb · · Score: 1

    Is that what they're made from?
    I'll have to try that in my kitchen ^h^h^h^h^h^h^h laboratory.

  63. Patents by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So apparently the patent offices were just as bad in the 1970's? Patenting cans?

  64. Why just part? by pokerdad · · Score: 1

    I can't help but wonder why only part of his remains were in a can; it would seem very odd to me that he would request to have himself split up that way. Split between as many cans as are necessary, sure, but this reeks of something else to me.

    Basically, what I'm trying to say is that I think his kids probably didn't like this as much as we're being led to believe. Some or all of them probably hated the idea of putting dad in a pringles can, even if it was his request and very much a part of his life, and so they made a token gesture then put the rest of him in the kind of container they would want to be put in.

  65. This stuff is not kosher... by keeboo · · Score: 1

    If you check this, more specifically the Flavors section:

    Israel
    ...
    Smokey Bacon

  66. Pleaase remove this item! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    CHET-NUN
    This is really disgusting and inappropriate, besides being an apex (?) of idolatry.
    I hope I never see or eat another Pringle potato chip.
    JB

  67. Yoda not too much crack smoke can? by Per+Wigren · · Score: 1

    "Pringles Can Designer Dies, Buried In a Pringles Can"

    It took me a while to parse that sentense, until I realized that they meant "can", the noun.

    --
    My other account has a 3-digit UID.
  68. Lucky fellow by jandersen · · Score: 1

    How fortunate for him that he was a proctologist instead.

  69. I'm trying to lose weight you bastards! by AbRASiON · · Score: 1

    Don't post articles on the damned pringles can, curse those people and their glorious snack food product :(
    Oh that salty powdered flavouring .............

  70. Designed? Uhh... cylinder + lid = patent? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Can someone explain just what the fuck is so special about a cylinder with one end having a lid? I thought to be patentable, an idea had to be non-obvious. God damnit, I hate the USPTO.

  71. I have the Common-Law patent on Cancaskette. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    While on vacation from my royal position in Great Brittain: I killed a squirrel, threw him into a transluscent can shaped just like for Pringles (but was for Chex-mix from Sam's Club or Costco IIRC), and then attached a live squirrel to the can by means of a rope noosed around his waste. I threw him into a 50-feet wide river that moved fast but was only 5-feet deep. Man it was hilarious. I went back to my native home in Whales, England a proud girl to The Family for having done a good deed against heirs of the rebellion.