A Crisp Legacy: Why Was the Inventor of the Pringles Can Buried Inside a Pringles Can After He Died?

When you walk down the snack aisle, few packages are as instantly recognizable as the Pringles tube. While most consumers focus on the uniform, saddle-shaped chips inside, the container itself is a marvel of engineering that revolutionized the snack industry. However, the story of its creator, Fredric J. Baur, contains a twist that sounds more like an urban legend than a historical fact: upon his death in 2008, Baur was partially interred inside one of his own iconic cans. This decision was not a corporate marketing stunt or a prank, but rather a profound tribute to a lifetime of professional pride and innovation. This post explores the history of Fredric Baur and the reasons behind his unique final request.

Who Was Fredric Baur?

Fredric J. Baur was an organic chemist and a packaging design engineer who spent the majority of his career working for Procter & Gamble (P&G). While Baur held various roles within the company, he is best remembered for his work in the late 1950s and 1960s, during which he sought to solve a common consumer complaint regarding potato chips: they were frequently broken, greasy, and went stale quickly.

Baur’s background in chemistry allowed him to approach snack packaging from a scientific perspective. He wasn't just looking for a bag; he was looking for a structural solution. His research led to several key developments:

• The creation of the hyperbolic paraboloid shape (the mathematical term for the Pringles chip) to ensure aerodynamic stability and stackability.
• The development of the pressurized, cylindrical can to protect the chips from breaking.
• The use of a foil-lined interior to maintain freshness and prevent oil from seeping through the packaging.

The Revolutionary Design of the Pringles Can

To understand why Baur wanted to be buried in his invention, one must understand the significance of the design at the time. Before Pringles debuted in the late 1960s, potato chips were sold in bags that were mostly filled with air to prevent crushing, yet consumers still found themselves with bags of crumbs.

According to historical records from Procter & Gamble, Baur’s cylindrical can was a breakthrough in food engineering. It allowed for a "fixed-array" stacking method, which maximized space and ensured that every chip reached the consumer intact. Despite initial skepticism from competitors and even some internal pushback regarding the taste of the processed chips, the can became a global design icon. For Baur, the container represented the pinnacle of his career as an engineer.

The Story of the Final Request

The decision to use a Pringles can as a funeral urn was not a last-minute whim. According to interviews with Baur’s children published in TIME and The Guardian following his death, Baur had requested the arrangement as early as the 1980s. He told his family that he was so proud of the design that he wanted it to be part of his legacy—literally.

When Baur passed away at the age of 89 in May 2008, his children honored his wish. His son, Larry Baur, recounted that he and his siblings stopped at a Walgreens on the way to the funeral home to purchase the burial vessel. They briefly deliberated over which flavor to use before settling on the "Original" red can. During the cremation process, a portion of Baur’s ashes was placed inside the can, which was then buried with him at his grave in Springfield Township, Ohio. The remainder of his ashes was placed in a traditional urn and buried alongside the can.

A Symbol of Professional Pride

The story of Fredric Baur serves as a fascinating example of how deeply professionals can connect with their work. While the idea of being buried in a snack container may seem humorous to the public, for Baur, it was a symbol of his contribution to the world.

Key reasons for this choice included:

1. Innovation: The can was a tangible representation of his problem-solving skills as a chemist.
2. Identity: Baur spent years defending the design and the "Newfangled Potato Chips" against critics and legal challenges.
3. Humor and Heart: His family noted that while he took his work seriously, he possessed a sense of irony regarding his fame as the "can man."

Conclusion

The story of Fredric Baur and his Pringles can burial is a unique intersection of industrial history and personal legacy. By choosing to be buried in the container he spent years perfecting, Baur ensured that his identity would forever be linked to one of the most successful packaging designs in history. It remains a testament to the pride of an engineer who saw beauty and utility in a simple cardboard tube. The next time you pop the top of a Pringles can, you are not just opening a snack; you are interacting with the life’s work of a man who believed in his invention so much, he took it with him to the very end. For those interested in the history of design, Baur’s story is a reminder that the items we use every day are often the result of a lifetime of dedication.