Have you ever had so much time on your hands that you end up in some really weird corners of the internet? One moment you’re watching a YouTube video and the next you’re 20 tabs deep into the workings of potato chips. No? We’re here to rectify that.
Let’s start with Pringles – their defining quality is the saddle shape, which is known in official terms as a hyperbolic paraboloid, according to ZME Science.
![](https://wp.scoopwhoop.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/5e9405fd18ac817fa2fb4779_d16b8060-f797-4a35-82e7-a2522803e6db.jpg)
The distinctive shape isn’t just for aesthetics, it also makes it easier to stack the chips in the cylindrical tube container, as the hyperbolic paraboloid is plotted over a circular domain.
Another advantage of this shape is that it minimises the possibility of broken chips during transport, since they’re all packed together so tightly.
![](https://wp.scoopwhoop.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/5e9405fd18ac817fa2fb4779_025a82e0-7403-4520-a67d-a51030fffc3c.jpg)
The double curvature of the Pringles chip also allows it to maintain integrity despite being very thin.
![](https://wp.scoopwhoop.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/5e9405fd18ac817fa2fb4779_9e6e30c2-0f80-4053-84b6-44582f7afbaa.jpg)
So there you go – now you know something interesting about Pringles that you can bring up at your next Zoom party.
Top picks for you