WTF? Man in a Can

"I pray that death may strike me
In the middle of a large meal.
I wish to be buried under the tablecloth
Between four large dishes.
And I desire that this short inscription
Should be engraved on my tombstone.
'Here lies the first poet
Ever to die of indigestion"

Marc Antoine Désaugiers (1772-1827) French poet

In death as in life? Dr. Fredric J. Baur, an Organic Chemist and Aviation Physiologist left this mortal coil on May 4. He apparently felt that his finest accomplishment in life was not the invention of freeze dried ice cream or of specific frying oils - feats many of us could not conceive. No, in fact he felt that those achievements were surpassed by his creation of the Pringles Potato Chip can.


To that end, he requested that on his death, his family were to consign some of his ashes to a Pringles can. He received a patent for the package as well as the method of packaging Pringles in 1970 while working for mega corporation Proctor and Gamble. According to his daughter Linda L. Baur, "the Pringles can - a tube-shaped container designed to hold the salty, stackable, saddle-shaped chip - was his proudest accomplishment".


So on his death at the age of 89 at Vitas Hospice, his children honored his request. Part of his remains were buried in a Pringles can - along with a regular urn containing the rest - in his grave at Arlington Memorial Gardens in Springfield Township, USA.


I wonder which flavour can they chose and if the flowers by his grave were also held in Pringles cans? And were there potato chips and dip at his wake? Or cocktail franks and cheese on sticks? And did the guests leave thirsty and unsatisfied - as is the case on emptying a can of Pringles.

What was your finest hour?
I have yet to know mine, but if I did would the disposal of my final remains reflect my accomplishments? I think not. How about you?