Peace, equality and pringles for all.
June 1, 2009 8:39 AM Subscribe

At long last, Pringles have joined the family of potato chips after being shunned for years.
posted by Z1LCH (80 comments total) 3 users marked this as a favorite

For potato chips and potato chip connoisseurs everywhere, an era has ended
posted by TwelveTwo at 8:41 AM on June 1, 2009

Yuck.
posted by empath at 8:42 AM on June 1, 2009

Science fiction luminary Gene Wolfe, early in his engineering career, helped to invent the machine that makes Pringles.

It's a fact.

/random
posted by BitterOldPunk at 8:43 AM on June 1, 2009 [4 favorites]

I personally refuse to acknowledge Pringles or any other product made out of potato powder/flour/flakes/etc, such as Baked Lays, as potato chips. A potato chip is a slice of whole potato damnit.
posted by yeoz at 8:43 AM on June 1, 2009 [3 favorites]

*slams into paywall with an audible crunching noise*

It's a good thing I can't click just one link.
posted by adipocere at 8:44 AM on June 1, 2009 [2 favorites]

Mitch Hedberg would be proud today.
posted by NoMich at 8:46 AM on June 1, 2009

In Britain, most foods are exempt from the value-added tax, but potato chips — known as crisps — and “similar products made from the potato, or from potato flour,” are taxable.

What is this, a law specifically designed to punish the Irish?
posted by interrobang at 8:46 AM on June 1, 2009 [12 favorites]

Oh, forgot, NSFW language in that Mitch Hedberg video. Sorry.
posted by NoMich at 8:47 AM on June 1, 2009

...but a Pringle is “made from potato flour in the sense that one cannot say that it is not made from potato flour
...
The company argued that to be “made of potato” Pringles would have to be all potato, or nearly so. If so, Lord Justice Jacob noted, “a marmalade made using both oranges and grapefruit would be made of neither — a nonsense conclusion.”

I love these two excerpts.
posted by vacapinta at 8:48 AM on June 1, 2009 [5 favorites]

FTA:

Manufacturer Procter & Gamble (P&G) is likely to save millions of pounds as a result of the decision - with customers also likely to pay less.

Journalists are so cute when they're young!
posted by Pope Guilty at 8:49 AM on June 1, 2009 [4 favorites]

I object, if only because of the name of the tax. Proctor & Gamble are not adding any value to anything by producing those things.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 8:50 AM on June 1, 2009 [2 favorites]

I don't care what they are called, I love Pringles. But Munchos are better.
posted by The Deej at 8:50 AM on June 1, 2009 [1 favorite]

Are Munchos the next to fall?
posted by spicynuts at 8:51 AM on June 1, 2009

Pringles are to potato chips as Cheez Whiz is to cheese.
posted by R. Mutt at 8:52 AM on June 1, 2009

Speaking of Pringles, I really miss Torengos. The salsa flavor really did taste like salsa and not that "generic south of the border spicy" flavoring that usually passes for "salsa" flavors on chips.
posted by Pope Guilty at 8:54 AM on June 1, 2009 [1 favorite]

IANAD, but if I were you, I'd err on the side of caution and throw them out. No use risking a trip to the emergency room.

Oh, this wasn't a "should I eat this?" question?
posted by Ufez Jones at 8:55 AM on June 1, 2009

"He was even more dismissive of Procter & Gamble’s argument that to be taxable a product must contain enough potato to have the quality of “potatoness.” This “Aristotelian question” of whether a product has the “essence of potato,” he insisted, simply cannot be answered."

I almost feel for the P&G lawyer who had to defend Pringles (whose first ingredient is "dried potato", ffs,) as an unnatural processed food that lacks an essence of potatoness.
posted by zarq at 8:55 AM on June 1, 2009 [1 favorite]

nice, so basically the court is saying the ratio of flour:potato = beans:plate?
posted by fuzzypantalones at 8:57 AM on June 1, 2009

Their packaging, "unnatural shape" and the fact that the potato content is less than 50% helped Mr Justice Warren make his crunch decision.

Unnaturally delicious, you mean!
posted by Joe Beese at 8:59 AM on June 1, 2009

See also: Jaffa Cakes are cakes, not biscuits, for the purposes of tax.
posted by game warden to the events rhino at 9:02 AM on June 1, 2009

At any rate, here are 1,123 other potato chip options you can consider.

I particularly recommend Tim's Cascade Style Hot Jalapeño Seasoned Potato Chips.
posted by Joe Beese at 9:02 AM on June 1, 2009 [1 favorite]

IANAL, so I can only imagine what it must feel like, after years of college and law school and passing the bar exam, being assigned to defend something like "potatoness".

But I do know what I feel: Schadenfreude.
posted by tommasz at 9:04 AM on June 1, 2009 [6 favorites]

Overthinking a tin of chips.
posted by exogenous at 9:04 AM on June 1, 2009

Confessions of a Pringles Lover
posted by Joe Beese at 9:07 AM on June 1, 2009 [1 favorite]

posted by R. Mutt Pringles are to potato chips as Cheez Whiz is to cheese.

Word. Pringles are potato crisps, not potato chips! Pringles are to potato chips what the Star Wars Holiday Special is to the Star Wars movies. Pringles are Coy and Vance in the Dukes of Hazzard potato chip universe.
posted by mattdidthat at 9:08 AM on June 1, 2009

Cochran
...ladies and gentlemen of this supposed jury, I have one final thing I want you to consider. Ladies and gentlemen, this is a Pringle. Pringles are a Savoury Snack from Proctor and Gamble. But Pringes contain potatoes. Now think about it; that does not make sense!
Gerald Broflovski
Damn it!... He's using the Pringles defense!
Cochran
Why would a Pringle, a tasty, tasty Pringle, want to contain potatoes, and associate with potato chips? That does not make sense! But more important, you have to ask yourself: What does this have to do with this case? Nothing. Ladies and gentlemen, it has nothing to do with this case! It does not make sense! Look at me. I'm a lawyer defending a major record company, and I'm talkin' about Pringles! Does that make sense? Ladies and gentlemen, I am not making any sense! None of this makes sense! And so you have to remember, when you're in that jury room deliberatin' and conjugatin' the Emancipation Proclamation, [approaches and softens] does it make sense? No! Ladies and gentlemen of this supposed jury, it does not make sense! If Pringles lives are chips, you must acquit! The defense rests.
posted by blue_beetle at 9:10 AM on June 1, 2009 [1 favorite]

If Pringles ~~lives~~ are chips, you must acquit!
posted by blue_beetle at 9:11 AM on June 1, 2009

All I know is they better bring Flamin' Hot Cheetos back to Canada before I have to smuggle myself into the USA for my favourite extruded cheese product.
posted by autodidact at 9:17 AM on June 1, 2009

Pringles are to potato chips as Pluto is to planets.
posted by stbalbach at 9:17 AM on June 1, 2009

*slams into paywall with an audible crunching noise*

paywall? I see no paywall here. NYT requires registration, but it's free.

Pringles are to potato chips as Totino's Frozen Pizza is to actual pizza.

And you know, they are entirely separate food items, and have individual cravings. Sometimes you want cardboard-n-sauce, and the best brick-oven fired pie won't scratch that itch. Same with Pringles.
posted by hippybear at 9:22 AM on June 1, 2009 [2 favorites]

Wow. Definitely a clipboard error. That should have been:

IANAL, so I can only imagine what it must feel like, after years of college and law school and passing the bar exam, being assigned to defend something like "potatoness".

In the U.K., law is an undergraduate program. You get an LL.B. => legum baccalaureus => bachelor of laws.
posted by jock@law at 9:27 AM on June 1, 2009

The UK gets curry flavoured Pringles?

I WANT curry flavoured Pringles!
posted by orme at 9:27 AM on June 1, 2009

a Pringle
--------------
is
made from potato flour
in the sense that one cannot say that it
is not
made from potato flour

- 2009
posted by DU at 9:27 AM on June 1, 2009 [14 favorites]

Pringles are to potato chips as Pluto is to planets.

Yeah and EVERYONE loves Pluto. You ever hear anyone say a bad word about Pluto? No. That motherfucker Uranus is on everyone's shit list, ruins every party he's invited to, steals your money and your girl and he's still a Planet. But Pluto can't be a planet. Life ain't fair.
posted by spicynuts at 9:28 AM on June 1, 2009

I am reminded of Cypher's speech when he eats with Agent Smith in the first Matrix:

You know, I know this steak doesn't exist. I know that when I put it in my mouth, the Matrix is telling my brain... that it is juicy... and delicious. *sighs* After nine years, you know what I realize? *puts bit of steak into mouth, sighs, chews it with eyes closed* Ignorance is bliss.

That's pretty much how I feel about Pringles. Just give me a can of Cheese-Ums; I don't need the details.
posted by brain_drain at 9:28 AM on June 1, 2009

Pringles are awesome. I can live off their sour cream and onion. Well actually I can't be everyone gets the point. If I were P and G I would put a special edition in a potato chip bag and call them "Pringles' Taxable Potato Chips."
posted by Mastercheddaar at 9:29 AM on June 1, 2009 [1 favorite]

I thought that people only bought Pringles so they could dump out the packaging styrofoam contents to use the canister to construct such devices as WiFi booster antennae and IEDs. Pringles are edible?
posted by Burhanistan at 9:33 AM on June 1, 2009 [1 favorite]

The shape isn't all that's unnatural. Eww.

Link contains a text post of NSFW language, but in normal sized print. Bit gross, boss may hear you laughing.
posted by mccarty.tim at 9:33 AM on June 1, 2009 [2 favorites]

Where did they find those packages with the original logo?

I only ever see Pringles with the horrible new "extreme" logo.
posted by JBennett at 9:33 AM on June 1, 2009

In the U.K., law is an undergraduate program. You get an LL.B. => legum baccalaureus => bachelor of laws.

A Legume Baccalaureus is certainly someone who can overthink a plate of beans.
posted by qvantamon at 9:47 AM on June 1, 2009 [8 favorites]

a Pringle is "made from potato flour in the sense that one cannot say that it is not made from potato flour, and the proportion of potato flour is significant being over 40 percent."

OK, the second part I understand. The first part is causing my brain to spasm.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 9:59 AM on June 1, 2009 [1 favorite]

I noticed that, too. Probably just an old stock image.
posted by dunkadunc at 9:59 AM on June 1, 2009

JBennett: "I only ever see Pringles with the horrible new "extreme" logo."

There's nothing more extreme than a walrus moustache, dude!
posted by Joe Beese at 10:00 AM on June 1, 2009

Civil Disobedient is a human in the sense that one cannot say Civil Disobedient is not human.

Nope. Still spasming.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 10:00 AM on June 1, 2009

My father worked his whole life in "the snack food industry" specifically Laura Scudder's potato chips. "Laura Scudder's potato chips the loudest chips in the world".

I remember him bringing home a can of Pringles when they were first released, offering us early exposure to the ugly turn that his life's work had taken.

He knew they were not potato chips and he may be turning in his grave at this moment.
posted by pianomover at 10:03 AM on June 1, 2009

I can only imagine what it must feel like, after years of college and law school and passing the bar exam, being assigned to defend something like "potatoness".

Since you're working for P&G, it feels wealthy.
posted by Mick at 10:15 AM on June 1, 2009

All I know is they better bring Flamin' Hot Cheetos back to Canada.

I'll trade you Flamin' Hot Cheetos from the US for Four-Cheese Pringles from Canada. (With at least a dozen varieties of Pringles marketed in the US, why they've never brought that heavenly variety here is beyond me.)
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 10:25 AM on June 1, 2009

Our long national nightmare of peace and prosperity is finally over.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 10:28 AM on June 1, 2009

I wish our judges could discuss the use of Aristotelian arguments and the favored rhetorical devices of a tyro.

The Brits have all the luck.
posted by oddman at 10:32 AM on June 1, 2009

oddman, the "Justice Holmes" that Lord Justice Jacob quotes about the tyro is United States Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 10:38 AM on June 1, 2009

But at least "Miracle Whip" isn't mayonnaise yet, right?
posted by 445supermag at 10:42 AM on June 1, 2009

Civil Disobedient is a human in the sense that one cannot say Civil Disobedient is not human.

My reading of this is that since it is impossible to say or claim that you are NOT human, you are therefore human. In other words, no one in their right mind can make a defensible claim that Pringles are NOT potato flour, because a large or majority percentage of their make up is in fact potato flour, therefore, they are potato flour. It is definitely twisting my brain though.
posted by spicynuts at 10:50 AM on June 1, 2009

In the very early 1970's, as part of the promotion for the new Pringles, our local newspaper ran a coupon for a free can. There was no limit specified.

My brother and I collected all the papers from the block, cut out the coupons, begged our Mom to take us to Von's, and walked out with armloads of potato tubes.

[pringle orgy redacted]

Later that day, we all went on a boat ride.

A fun, fun boat ride.

I didn't eat Pringles again until the mid 1980's.
posted by Aquaman at 10:56 AM on June 1, 2009 [8 favorites]

So, Pringles cause diarrhea?
posted by Burhanistan at 11:07 AM on June 1, 2009

No, just lots and lots of "fish food".
posted by Aquaman at 11:31 AM on June 1, 2009

A consists of B in the sense that it is false that A does not consist of B....

A is made from B, and A is not not made from B. Therefore, A is made from B....

Man, the pro-potato chip Pringles arguments are harder to understand than the Creationist arguments.
posted by mccarty.tim at 11:46 AM on June 1, 2009 [1 favorite]

Civil_Disobedient: OK, the second part I understand. The first part is causing my brain to spasm.

What's so hard to understand about this? This is very basic logic that the judge is employing: the statement that 'A is true' is logically equivalent to the statement 'the inverse of A is not true'. In some cases, proving the latter is easier than proving the former; this is exactly what the judge did. This is of course implying that there is no middle ground here - tertium non datur. It can easily be argued that the argumentation used by the judge is really not applicable here.
posted by daniel_charms at 12:06 PM on June 1, 2009

Old anecdote regarding New Yorker editor Harold Ross, an ungainly gentleman to say the least, after an interesting winter outing:

New Yorker Staffer: So, what did Ross look like tobogganing?
F P Adams: Well, you know what Ross looks like not tobogganing...
posted by Spatch at 12:10 PM on June 1, 2009

Is this going to turn into a debate about whether or not God is actually in the communion bread?
posted by Burhanistan at 12:12 PM on June 1, 2009

THERE CAN BE NO DEBATE HE IS IN WITH AND UNDER, MOTHERFUCKER

PRINGLES HOWEVER ARE CERTIFIABLY BEREFT OF THE HOLY PRESENCE
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 12:28 PM on June 1, 2009 [1 favorite]

Fact: Cars contain some metal.
This statement is true: Cars are made from metal.
This statement is false: Cars are NOT made from metal.

Fact: Cars contain some cloth.
This statement is false: Cars are made from cloth.
This statement is true: Cars are NOT made from cloth.

Fact: Formal logic doesn't really describe the world that well. Your example only works when you take the facts you presented one by one, independent of each other. In reality, of course, cars are made from many different materials. It's our system of categories that makes us think cars ARE made from metal and are NOT made of all those other materials they are made of. But what is a car anyway? Is it the body or the chassis? If the body of a car is made of plastic and the chassis (which probably weighs quite a bit more), then is the car made of plastic or metal?
posted by daniel_charms at 1:25 PM on June 1, 2009 [1 favorite]

Communion wafers always reminded me of Pringles. I think it was a combination of the texture and the certain knowledge that I should not be eating either of them in the rectory.
posted by Mister_A at 1:42 PM on June 1, 2009

...a Pringle is “made from potato flour in the sense that one cannot say that it is not made from potato flour, and the proportion of potato flour is significant being over 40 percent.”

In other words, you can't make a Pringle without potato flour, folks. It ain't a "nice to have" ingredient--it's a "need to have" ingredient.
posted by retronic at 2:16 PM on June 1, 2009

I wish our judges could discuss the use of Aristotelian arguments and the favored rhetorical devices of a tyro.

The Brits have all the luck.

You haven't had to put up with Lord Denning. Years of (hilarious) damage, all in the name of justice.

And probably as good a place as any to chuck in some F.E. Smith:

Judge: Are you trying to show contempt for this court, Mr Smith?
Smith: No, My Lord. I am attempting to conceal it.

Master of the Rolls: Really, Mr Smith, do give this Court credit for some little intelligence.
Smith: That is the mistake I made in the Court below, My Lord.
posted by djgh at 2:34 PM on June 1, 2009 [2 favorites]

Fact: Formal logic doesn't really describe the world that well. Your example only works when you take the facts you presented one by one, independent of each other. In reality, of course, cars are made from many different materials. It's our system of categories that makes us think cars ARE made from metal and are NOT made of all those other materials they are made of. But what is a car anyway? Is it the body or the chassis? If the body of a car is made of plastic and the chassis (which probably weighs quite a bit more), then is the car made of plastic or metal?

Ummm...that's exactly my point.
posted by DU at 2:52 PM on June 1, 2009

Pringles are to potato chips what Hershey is to chocolate.
posted by Zambrano at 3:00 PM on June 1, 2009

What the hell are Funions?
posted by cazoo at 4:13 PM on June 1, 2009

In general, I avoid eating foods that can effectively function as tinder.
posted by Tube at 4:16 PM on June 1, 2009

> What the hell are Funions?

The snack-food equivalent to crack in a bag.
posted by seanmpuckett at 4:50 PM on June 1, 2009

> What the hell are Funions?

They're like bunions, but they're FUN!
posted by dunkadunc at 5:05 PM on June 1, 2009 [1 favorite]

I consider Pringles to represent the pinnacle of human achievement. So tasty and such a satisfying texture. Especially the jalapeno-flavored ones.
posted by wintermute2_0 at 5:05 PM on June 1, 2009

Mmmmmmm Funyuns!!!!
posted by The Deej at 5:38 PM on June 1, 2009

In related news, Sabor de Soledad now has 20% more bull semen.
posted by milquetoast at 6:07 PM on June 1, 2009

A Mt Everest guide once told me that Pringles were the preferred snack food of mountaineers. Lots of needed calories, the vacuum-sealed container didn't explode at high altitudes, and the chips/crisps didn't get crushed in the backpack.
posted by lunalaguna at 6:19 PM on June 1, 2009

Good point, but I went and tried it out on my body as an experiment. Now I'm freaked out. I contain teeth, therefore, I am made out of teeth.

I have just stumbled on a philosophical black hole. I now realize that I'm some form of disgusting Lovecraftian tooth monster. Those fucking Pringles bastards. They screw with your insides, and then your mind.
posted by mccarty.tim at 8:25 PM on June 1, 2009 [3 favorites]

It will soon be discovered that Pringles contain whatever the trash trucks brought in that day
posted by Burhanistan at 8:39 PM on June 1, 2009

They're like hot dogs, then?
posted by Kirth Gerson at 4:02 AM on June 2, 2009

What's so hard to understand about this? This is very basic logic that the judge is employing: the statement that 'A is true' is logically equivalent to the statement 'the inverse of A is not true'.

I'm more than familiar with the logic. My problem with statement was not its complexity, but its utility. It is needlessly repetitive without adding any clarification to the issue. Something is descriptor in the sense that you can't say it isn't descriptor. Well, along those lines, something is spelled s-o-m-e-t-h-i-n-g only in the sense that you can't say it isn't spelled s-o-m-e-t-h-i-n-g. Oh, well that clears it up!
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 5:21 AM on June 2, 2009

I have eaten
the Pringles
that were in
the tube

and which
you were probably
saving
for eating in desperation if you had no other options

Forgive me
they were delicious
so crisp
though not particularly potatoe-y
posted by youarenothere at 6:38 AM on June 2, 2009 [1 favorite]

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Peace, equality and pringles for all. June 1, 2009 8:39 AM Subscribe

Peace, equality and pringles for all.
June 1, 2009 8:39 AM Subscribe