They are a favorite for campers: Pringles® crisps. You know what they look like and how they taste, but did you ever wonder how Pringles were invented? Read on!
What was the problem with other potato chips? Broken and greasy chips. That’s why, in 1956, Proctor & Gamble enlisted the help of Fredric Baur. Baur, a trained chemist, just also happened to be a guy with great mathematical skills. Baur used a geometric formula to create a saddle-shaped chip that would not break when individually stacked inside a cardboard cylinder. Pringles were invented along with their iconic container. Problem solved? Nope! The chips tasted terrible.
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Looking for solutions
Proctor & Gamble continued to work on better-tasting chips and finally came up with a mixture of dehydrated potatoes, corn, rice, and wheat. Perfectly shaped chips (now called crisps) were stamped out of the mix and then the crisps were packaged inside Baur’s chip container invention. Problem solved? Yes!
Buried inside his Pringles invention
Fredric Baur was understandably proud of his chips-in-a-can invention. So proud, in fact, that he wanted to take his invention to the grave. Sort of… Baur actually requested that his cremated ashes be placed inside a Pringles can for burial. So when Baur died at the age of 89, his children honored their father’s wish.
According to the family, the Baur children discussed what flavor Pringles can to use for their father’s ashes. (By the time of his death, Pringles crisps were sold all over the world and came in a wide variety of flavors.) Larry, the eldest of the Baur clan suggested, “We need to use the original.” His siblings agreed and that’s how Fredric Baur, the inventor, came to be buried inside his Pringles can invention.
11 Pringles can hacks for RVing
Inside the RV
- Store other foods inside. Chips aren’t the only food that will travel safely inside a Pringles container. You can also safely pack a sleeve of crackers, some spaghetti or other noodles, dried beans, and more inside this handy can. Flour, sugar, and breadcrumbs are other products that can be transported via the Pringles container. The sturdy cardboard will protect the food, and you won’t have punctured bags or spilled products inside the RV.
- Make a cell phone speaker. Cut a slit near the bottom of the Pringles can. Make the slit large enough for your cell phone to sit inside. Remove the lid. The can will amplify your cell phone’s speaker. Really!
- Store plastic bags. Cut a small (one-inch diameter) hole in the Pringles lid. When you need a plastic bag, simply reach into the hole, and pull one out.
- Office or hobby supplies. A Pringles can will also corral those office supplies like pens, scissors, paper clips, and glue sticks. Hobby supplies like beads, wire, artists’ paintbrushes and more will also fit inside.
- Hair accessories holder. Use a Pringles can to keep hair ties and elastic bands together. Just put them around the outside of the can. Clips, ribbons, and bows can be stored inside the can, as well.
- Makeup organizer. You can cut down Pringles cans so that your makeup brushes, comb/brush, and other tools are easily at hand. Tape a series of cans together so they’ll stay securely upright.
- Necklace holder. Put weights in the bottom of a Pringles can. Then wind a rubber band around the can, near the top. Hang necklaces and bracelets from the rubber band. Simple! And handy, too!
Outside the RV
- Bird feeder. Use a darning needle to poke and thread a string through the top of the Pringles can. Tie the ends of the string together. Then use a spatula or butter knife to smear peanut butter all over the exterior of the Pringles can. Then roll the prepared can in birdseed. Hang the bird feeder from a nearby tree. Or hang the feeder from a garden flag holder outside your RV window.
- See underwater. Kids love doing this. Remove the bottom of the Pringles can. Use a waterproof tape to securely fasten the lid onto the can. Gently place the lid end of the can into the water. Look through the bottom of the can to see what’s underneath the water’s surface.
- Keep paint rollers fresh. When painting, you can slip a Pringles container over the paint roller at the end of the day. The next day, the paint in the roller will be ready to go.
- Store tools. We use a few select tools when traveling in our RV: a channel lock, screwdrivers, pliers, and the like. An easy way to keep these few, but necessary, tools together and within reach is to store the tools inside a Pringles can. The can stays in the RV basement where the tools are always available.
Decorating the Pringles can
If using a Pringles hack inside your RV you may want to decorate it. You can cover the exterior of the Pringles can with paint, decoupage, or by wrapping paper around the can, and then securely taping the edges. Crafters have also glued shells, stones, sequins, ribbons, and other objects to the Pringles can exterior.
Have you reused Pringles cans in additional ways? Share with us, please, in the comments below.
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Make a speaker …
https://www.instructables.com/Pringles-Can-Speaker/
At one time the Pringles company offered a kit to turn the cans into speakers, but this guy made his own!
I used one to store knitting and crochet needles.
You forgot the most important and probably the most famous use for a Pringles can; making a cantenna. The cantenna is a booster for weak wifi signals so you can drag those wifi signals that might be just little bit out of reach.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJh_nkgwTjw
I have used a Pringles can as a hotdog cooker. Cut a slit from top to bottom. Stop on both ends 1 inch from either end. Cut about 1.5 inches down on both ends. (Do not cut up.) Take a ruler or something to pull down on the side you cut down to make a door. You should be able to pull it down an put it back up to close like a door. In the bottom take a nail and poke a hole in the center, do the same with the lid. Take a wire hanger & cut a piece 2 inches longer then the Pringles can. Push the wire through the hole on one end, put a hotdog on the wire the long ways, wrap a piece of foil around the lid & push the wire through the hole. Shut the lid/door you cut out. Set the can in a nice sunny area. The heat from the sun will cook your hotdog. Sorry I can’t remember how long it took. It does work. When I taught cooking classes for the Boy Scouts we did this on campouts. You can do this with hamburger also it just takes a longer to cook.
Genius! Thanks for sharing.
When I was a nightclub singer in my younger years, I used a Pringles can with a little rice in it as a shaker while I sang which emitted a percussion sound much like brushes on a snare drum. I covered the can with tin foil to disguise it.
I use the Pringles can to make candles.
I have used my Pringles cans to store my craft paint brushes for years… so this idea is not new by any means… it is a fabulous way to store them…😁
My kids used the pringles can for banks to save their money in intil they saved up enough to buy something, I used one for a bank when I was a kid
My grandma used them for the silverware to take on picnics. Plastic wasn’t used back then.
Car Shammy Container..the larger ones fit better in the Pringles can and moisture keeps them from getting to dry to use at the car wash.
My mom made Christmas presents. Oval holes cut out, nativity scenes inside with snow glitter etc. Then a candle votive on top, so pretty
I’m having a hard time picturing this would you be willing to send me a picture of what this looks like?
Use them to store ice cream cones. Keeps them fresh and unbroken.
If I could afford an RV, I would not be saving Pringles cans. Just saying.
Who in the world still eats Pringles??!
Me I just bought a can today.
5 cans here just yesterday 👍 we have used the cans for hair scrunchies for years as well as storing rubber bands
Me
I love Pringle’s. My favorite chip.
Yes, no oily fingers!
Really too much info u want for a comment- I eat a can every day . Eating them now .
I keep the lids around for use as 2 part epoxy mixing trays. Small jobs where you only need a quarter sized mix or so. Also, both the clear/translucent and black plastic epoxy formulas aren’t compatible with the lid plastic type, so you can just peel it off when dry and use the lid several times. 😁
You can make a WiFi directional (Yagi) antenna with a Pringles can.
It’s not a yagi…. At least the ones I’ve seen made with a Pringles can are not yagi antennas. They are more like a wave guide even though the frequency is too low to be an actual wave guide. Now, having said that, I have seen some multi-element wifi antennas that could be called yagi antennas, but they didn’t have anything to do with Pringles.
Wait, what? Wheat? Not gluten-free then. I should have read the label! I actually prefer Lays Stax – the plastic tube, label off, is better-looking. We keep doggie bags in one, tucked into the door pocket of the car.
People actually eat Pringles? 🤢🤮
Yeah got a problem with that bub?
Someone actually has to post negativity over people who eat Pringles, you seriously need to get a life 🙄
I love pringles
So Agreed
Your Own opinion…
Real people do. Think about it.
I use the can for zip ties, just the right length.
When I was in kindergarten, 50yrs ago. We decorated them & used them as storage for straws(any kind). My mother still has it.🤗 I’ve also used them with my grandaughters to make Santa & Mrs. Clause.