A Hyperbolic Paraboloid by Any Other Name...

What exactly are Pringles, anyway?

People have been wondering ever since Procter & Gamble introduced the, um, snack food in 1968.

Back then, P&G advertised them as "Pringles Newfangled Potato Chips." But anyone who opened the tennis-ball cans in which they were packaged had reason to doubt Pringles were very much like potato chips.

P&G eventually stopped calling Pringles "chips" in the U.S., one of 140 countries where it sells them. Instead, it tends to use somewhat enigmatic descriptions like "potato crisps" or simply "stacked snack."

Now, it turns out, Pringles aren't only not chips, they're not even mostly potatoes.

P&G conceded as much in a tax dispute in Britain last Friday, and a High Court judge in London readily agreed.

Seeking to avoid a 17.5 percent tax levied on potato chips in England, P&G said Pringles were more like crackers than potato chips. Indeed, only about 42 percent of the "potato crisps" are actually potatoes, the company said; they are mostly composed of a dough of corn flour, wheat starch, rice flour, fat, an emulsifier, and salt and other seasonings.

Justice Nicholas Warren, after taking time to also note Pringles unusual packaging and "unnatural shape," agreed with Procter & Gamble -- at least insofar as to agree that Pringles are not potato chips.

Whatever ribbing the company takes for its admission will probably be worth it: Avoiding the 17.5 percent value-added tax levy will save it millions of dollars each year in Britain alone.

by Mark Stein