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."

aha

[rakslice (90330)]

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

Re:

[dotancohen (1015143)]

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

Didn't you know? Solyent Green is people.

Pringles cans suck.

[3p1ph4ny (835701)]

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

Re:Pringles cans suck.

[SoupIsGoodFood_42 (521389)]

Have you tried tilting the can?

Re:Pringles cans suck.

[satoshi1 (794000)]

But do you know how much work that is!?

Re:Pringles cans suck.

[radimvice (762083)]

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

Re:Pringles cans suck.

[zoogies (879569)]

Crumbs.

Re:Pringles cans suck.

[Opportunist (166417)]

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...

Re:Pringles cans suck.

[bumby (589283)]

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

Re:Pringles cans suck.

[by Anonymous Coward]

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

Re:Pringles cans suck.

[glitch23 (557124)]

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

Obviously. It seems to affect your typing.

Re:

[TitusC3v5 (608284)]

Sorry, hands were still sticky at the time.

Re:Pringles cans suck.

[Ethan Allison (904983)]

Soylent Green flavor... get with the meme here

He was cremated:

[Tezcat (927703)]

BBQ flavour.

Re:Pringles cans suck.

[ABasketOfPups (1004562)]

"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.

Popped

[theurge14 (820596)]

Once you croak, you must stop.

one advantage

[nerdonamotorcycle (710980)]

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

Re:one advantage

[StarfishOne (756076)]

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

Re:

[StarfishOne (756076)]

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!

It could have been worse

[nobodyman (90587)]

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.

Re:It could have been worse

[vidarh (309115)]

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

Re:It could have been worse

[blackest_k (761565)]

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.

Re:It could have been worse

[Gordonjcp (186804)]

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"

Once you pop, you can't stop

[wilsoniya (902930)]

...until you drop (dead).

Re:Once you pop, you can't stop

[by Anonymous Coward]

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

It was a good design...

[lpangelrob (714473)]

...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.

Re:It was a good design...

[B3ryllium (571199)]

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

Re:

[by Anonymous Coward]

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

Re:It was a good design...

[MichaelSmith (789609)]

they stay frsh forever.

Typing with your mouth full?

Pringle's Can? Boring!

[elnico (1290430)]

You should have seen what Felix Klein was buried in [wikipedia.org].

Re:Pringle's Can? Boring!

[sam_v1.35b (1296319)]

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 :)

Re:Pringle's Can? Boring!

[MagdJTK (1275470)]

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

Environmental Impact

[bazald (886779)]

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.

Re:

[owlnation (858981)]

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.

Re:

[Scruffy Dan (1122291)]

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.

Re:

[NeuroManson (214835)]

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

Re:Environmental Impact

[khallow (566160)]

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.

Someone had to say it...

[by Anonymous Coward]

"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

Brazier

[Tablizer (95088)]

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".

Re:Brazier

[Opportunist (166417)]

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.

Re:Brazier

[servognome (738846)]

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

Re:Brazier

[Tablizer (95088)]

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

But SCO claims an arm and a leg.
     

Re:

[onefriedrice (1171917)]

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

Re:Brazier

[ELTaNiN (1297561)]

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

Tags

[taupin (1047372)]

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

Potential mistake

[Tablizer (95088)]

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."
     

ogligatory

[jollyreaper (513215)]

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.

Re:

[Tablizer (95088)]

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.

Re:FP

[Tony Hoyle (11698)]

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

Re:

[NeuroManson (214835)]

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