RIP Frederic J. Baur

Q: What was unusual about the container for Frederic J. Baur ashes?

A: They were placed in a can of Original Pringles

Frederic Baur: The Man Behind the Can

When you think of iconic packaging, the Pringles can probably comes to mind. The man responsible for this clever design was Frederic J. Baur, a chemist and food storage technician who revolutionized snack packaging. Born in 1918, Baur worked for Procter & Gamble and was granted a patent in 1970 for designing the Pringles can—a tall, cylindrical tube that kept chips neatly stacked and unbroken.

But Baur’s legacy didn’t end with the packaging. In a quirky twist of fate that matched his inventive spirit, Baur made an unusual final request: he wanted to be buried in a Pringles can. When he passed away in 2008 at the age of 89, his family honoured that wish. They stopped at a store on the way to the funeral home, purchased a can of Original Pringles, and placed a portion of his ashes inside.

The rest of his remains were cremated and stored in a traditional urn and another container, but the symbolic gesture captured the imagination of the public. It was a fitting tribute to a man whose creativity left a lasting (and stackable) mark on the snack world.