About Opentopia
Opentopia Directory Encyclopedia Tools

Pringles

Encyclopedia : P : PR : PRI : Pringles

Pringles is a brand of potato chip or crisps snack produced by Procter & Gamble. It was introduced in 1967 under the name "Pringle's Newfangled Potato Chips", which was changed to its current name the next year. According to the patent, it was invented by Alexander Liepa of Montgomery, Ohio, United States, (a suburb of Cincinnati) and comprises "A potato chip product and process wherein a dough is prepared from dehydrated cooked potatoes and water and subsequently fried." The advertising slogan of Pringles is "Once you pop, you can't stop." Some flavors of Pringles may contain Monosodium Glutamate, though the popular Original variety does not.

Pringles is known for the packaging (invented by Fred Baur), which consists of an upright tubular can with a foil interior, and a resealable plastic lid; it also has a famous logo, a stylized representation of a man with a large moustache and parted bangs. There is a common joke that the logo is a looks alike to English goal keeper David Seaman. The chips are made to a uniform size and saddle shape, so they stack very efficiently within the container, unlike other chips, which are packaged loosely in a bag (typically) or a box. This unique packaging led to stand-up comedian Mitch Hedberg's theory that Pringles' original intention was to make tennis balls, but on the day that the rubber was supposed to arrive a bunch of potatoes showed up instead.

Pringles come in several flavors, and occasionally the manufacturer produces limited edition runs. The product containers are often, but not always, labeled as such. Some flavors may be distributed only to limited market areas. Seasonal flavors, past and present include: ketchup, chili cheese dog, and Cajun.

Pringles has released a test product: Pringles Prints are Pringles with food-coloring printed on them with either trivia questions or jokes in red or blue ink.

Contents

Flavors

Pringles Machine
Enlarge
Pringles Machine

Pringles Can (Original Flavor)
Enlarge
Pringles Can (Original Flavor)

US

Current permanent U.S. flavors (from the [US website]):

Canada

Current Canadian flavours (from the [Canadian website]):

European

Current permanent European flavors (from the [UK website]):

Australia and New Zealand

Current permanent Australasian flavours (from the [Australian website]):

South America

Current South American flavours (from the [South American website])

Japan

Current Japan flavors (from the [Japan website]):

Israel

Current Israel flavors

Limited Editions

Partial list of discontinued limited edition flavors :

Alternative Uses

Because of the metallic interior and long, tubular shape, the cans have been used to make Wi-Fi network antennas, known as cantennas. Some fans of the chip brand collect the empty holders, which are colorful, uniform, and useful for storing small items such as paintbrushes.

It is possible to throw the plastic lid on a Pringles can in a similar fashion to a flying disc. When released with the correct technique, they are surprisingly stable in flight, and can travel upwards of 50 feet. The established throwing technique is to hold the lid between the thumb and middle finger, starting with your arm in a backhand throwing position, held at just above waist height. A flick of the wrist is critical when releasing the lid, to achieve sufficient spin. As Pringles lids require much more spin than Frisbees to maintain stability, successful forehand throws are extremely difficult to achieve. At sufficiently small angles of incidence Pringles lids will rebound from walls, and due to their lighter construction and shorter range, they are a safe, fun alternative to throwing a disc around indoors.

Pringles can be used as the basis for a [variety of canapés].

Shape and Manufacture

The Pringles saddle shape chip surface was modeled after, and can be described mathematically by, a hyperbolic paraboloid, which is a form of quadric. This shape is distinctive in that it is curved at all points along its surface; there are no flat planes or lines. This design characteristic is beneficial as it helps keep the chips from breaking during distribution by eliminating lines of stress along which a small crack may easily propagate. Further it keeps the stack of chips tightly interlocked or nested during distribution. Pringles is the only brand of stacked potato chips that exhibit this characteristic double saddle shape; all others are of a single curve surface design such as a parabolic cylinder or circular cylinder. One of the designers of the machine used to mold Pringles was the science fiction author Gene Wolfe.

The product is currently manufactured in North America in Jackson, Tennessee, where the minor league baseball stadium is called "Pringles Park". Pringles are also produced in Europe in Mechelen, Belgium.

In 2003, Frito Lay released a competing chip brand, Lay's Stax, with a single curve shape. They are packaged inside a plastic tube.

List of songs played in Pringles ads

External links

Procter & Gamble Co.
Corporate Directors: Norman Augustine | Bruce Byrnes | R. Kerry Clark | Scott D. Cook | Joseph Gorman | A.G. Lafley | Charles R. Lee | Lynn M. Martin | W. James McNerney, Jr. | Johnathan Rodgers | John F. Smith, Jr. | Ralph Snyderman | Robert Storey | Margaret Whitman | Ernesto Zedillo
Brands: Always | Ariel | Bounty | Braun | Charmin | CoverGirl | Crest | Downy | Dreft | Duracell | Fairy | Febreze | Folgers | Gillette | Head & Shoulders | Iams | Ivory | Max Factor | Olay | Old Spice | Oral-B | Pampers | Pantene | Pringles | Swiffer | Tampax | Tide | Torengos | Zest
Annual Revenue: .4 billion USD ( 10% FY 2005) | Employees: 110,000 | Stock Symbol: NYSE: [PG] | Website: [www.pg.com]

 

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.

Search Titles
0123456789
ABCDEFGHIJ
KLMNOPQRST
UVWXYZ?

E-mail this article to:

Personal Message: