Grave of Fredric J. Baur

Fredric John Baur may not be a household name, but he did invent something almost universally recognizable: the Pringles can. Having secured the patent for the famous tubular container for the distinctively stacked potato chips, Baur left a rather unusual request in his will. He asked that his ashes be buried in a Pringles can. 

Baur was a chemist who specialized in food storage research and development for Procter & Gamble in Cincinnati. In 1966, when almost every other potato chip came in bags, Baur developed the iconic tube, stating that, “the Pringles can was a revolution within the realm of snack food.”

He stipulated that upon his death, a portion of his cremated ashes would be sealed up in a Pringles tube. Passing away at the age of 89, it was left to his children to act out his peculiar final wish. In a 2008 interview with Time, eldest son Larry described how they stopped at a Walgreens on their way to the funeral home to buy a can of Pringles. They decided on the classic original flavor to send their father off in style.

Today in a peaceful cemetery in the Cincinnati Springfield Township, surrounded by much fancier coffins and graves, is the final resting place of Fredric Baur in his famous invention.