Chip Facts

Here's some useless chip facts taken directly from the pages of the Guinness Book Of Records:

The largest chip was produced by the Pringles plant in Jackson TN on April 19, 1990. It measured 23" by 14 1/2". Pringles potato chips are made out of potato flour.

In 1991 1.4 million acres of potatoes were farmed in the U.S. with an average yield of 13.8 metric tons per acre and a total production of 18.97 million metric tons.

The largest potato was grown in 1963 by J. East in Great Britian. This feat was also acomplished by J. Busby in Great Britian in 1982. The potato measured 7 pounds 1 ounce in weight.

The greatest quanity of potatoes pealed by 5 people to an institutional cookery standard with standard kitchen knives in 45 minutes is 830 pounds 11 ounces by Lia Sombrok, Marlene Guiamo, Ria Grol, Yvonne Renting and Nguyet Nguyen at Emmeloord, Netherlands on 15 Sep. 1990.

The following is a brief history of chips as found at Snax.com.

The Beginning of Potato Chips - 1853
Potato chips were created when railroad magnate Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt was vacationingat the fashionable Saratoga Springs resort in New York. As he's dining one evening, the Commodore sendshis fried potatoes back to the kitchen, complaining they're "too thick."

George Crum, the cook on duty, decides to have some fun with the Commodore. So Crum slices up a new batch ofpotatoes paper-thin, tosses them into boiling oil, fries them to a crisp and salts them. What's intended as a jokes turns into an instant hit. The Commodore and his friends love the "crunch potato slices." These "Saratoga Chips" become a fad with the resort's socialite patrons, and the recipe soon spreads to other restaurants along the East Coast.

The Henry Ford of Chips - 1890s

Cleveland entrepreneur William Tappenden takes to the streets, delivering potato chips to neighborhood stores via his horse-drawn wagon. He starts his chip business out of his kitchen at home, but as orders increase, his barn becomes the first potato chip factory.

It's in the bag - 1926

The era of stay-fresh potato chips begins. In Montgomery Park, CA, Laura Scudder invents the first potato chip bag as she and the employees of her small, family chip operation iron sheets of waxed paper into bags. They then fill the bags by hand and iron them shut, delivering them to retailers for customer self-service. Before this time, retailers had dispensed potato chips in bulk from cracker barrels or glass display cases.

Cooking up an industry. - 1929

The first continuous potato chip cooker is invented by Freeman McBeth of the J.D. Ferry Company, who gives the device to the Ross Potato Chip Company in Richland, PA. Ferry refuses payment from Ross, but he reserves the right to revamp the machine as he see fit. Unfortunately the Depression, not the potato chip cooker, soon sweeps the country, and few manufacturers are able to afford the device until years later.

It was a very good year - 1933

It's a big year for snack food. First, the Dixie Wax Paper Company of Dallas introduces the first "pre print" waxed glassine bag, called "Dixie's Fresheen." This allows potato chips to stay fresh longer than ever. On the printing side, new inks that don't fade and bleed are developed.

Enter, organization - 1937

The National Potato Chip Institute (NPCI)is founded. It faces many challenges, such as educating retailers and consumers about potato chips. Some retailers have been telling their customers to use potato chips on washday, like soap chips. One storeowner has displayed potato chips with the serving suggestion: "Pour into a bowl and add sugar and cream."

Potato Chips. Eat them. Sing to them. - 1949

The Vincent Lopez Orchestra and the Martin Sisters record a song for NPCI called "Potato Chips," which ran on the air along with songs like "Rum and Coca Cola" and "The Popcorn Polka."

Taking TV by storm - 1955

Potato chip TV commercials boom, as chip companies partner with soup, tuna, mustard, pickle, olive, soft drink and beer companies to produce bright ads that suggest new recipes and serving suggestions.

Growth begets a name change - 1959

As NPCI gains members worldwide, it changes its name to the Potato ChipInstitute International (PCII).

The tastiest merger ever! - 1961

Two of the nation's largest snack food companies, the Frito Companyand the Lay Company, merge to become Frito-Lay. Their two main national products are Fritos brand corn chips and Cheetos brand extruded snacks. By 1965, they also produce Lay's Potato Chips nationwide.

Doritos strikes gold - 1964

The first new product since the corn curl is introduced. Doritos, meaning "little gold" in Spanish. Three decades later, Doritos are the largest selling snack food in the world.

Finally, over a billion earned - 1970

Potato chip sales top the $1 billion mark. The same year, PCII launched Potato Chip Month with the red, white and blue theme, "Potato Chips-America's Choice."

Thicker ridged chips introduced - 1983

Potato chip lovers now have a new chip to love: thicker, ridged chips made especially for dipping, such as Borden's Cottage Fries and Frito-Lay's O'Grady's. Homestyle kettle-cooked chips are also making the rounds.

February will never be the same - 1989

February is declared National Snack Food Month by SFA and the National Potato Promotion Board. This month long celebration will go on to bring a 41% increase snack food consumption during February-the shortest month with the biggest Crunch.

Low-fat or No-fat = mucho bucks - 1995

Sales of low- and no-fat snack foods boom. Of all the full-line snack companies who respond to an industry survey, 75% say they have introduced low- or no-fat products this year. Low- and no-fat potato chips collectively spiked 122.7% to represent more than 8% potato chip sales in supermarkets.