# Creative uses for a Pringles can? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 30, 2010, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creative-uses-for-a-pringles-can/545084 "2010-06-30T17:00:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2010, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creative-uses-for-a-pringles-can/545084/1 "2010-06-30T17:00:19Z")
How many can you think of? Pringles have been on half-price for a while here, and we#ve been eating a fair few of them, and the cans seem like the sort of thing that should be useful. However, I can’t actually think of many uses and I’m usually good at the ‘find uses for a brick’ type thought experiments. I know you can make [rockets](http://coolscienceexperiments-bren801.blogspot.com/2009/01/prngles-can-rocket.html) out of them. Any other ideas? This can be for one can, multiple cans, minimal extra materials, lots of extra materials, whatever. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2010, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creative-uses-for-a-pringles-can/545084/2 "2010-06-30T17:04:33Z")
I’ve seen one used as a soap mold. The woman who was demonstrating this had cut a loofah to fit into the can, too. So when the soap was unmolded and sliced, it had a core of loofah in it, which I thought was neat, but not worth buying and eating a can of Pringles for that use. ---
**Author:** ![overlyverbose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9dc877/32.png) [@overlyverbose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/overlyverbose)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2010, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creative-uses-for-a-pringles-can/545084/3 "2010-06-30T17:08:33Z")
Stuff plastic grocery bags into it so they take up less space. ---
**Author:** ![Disheavel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@Disheavel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disheavel)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2010, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creative-uses-for-a-pringles-can/545084/4 "2010-06-30T17:13:12Z")
WiFi antennae range extender (it is a nice height and easy to make a parabola out of.) ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2010, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creative-uses-for-a-pringles-can/545084/5 "2010-06-30T17:13:15Z")
> [@scifisam2009](#): > > Pringles have been on half-price for a while here Which supermarket? ---
**Author:** ![canadiankorean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/2bfe46/32.png) [@canadiankorean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/canadiankorean)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2010, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creative-uses-for-a-pringles-can/545084/6 "2010-06-30T17:20:03Z")
At my friend’s son’s elementary school, they use the pringle can as a way to deliver important messages to parents. The children get to decorate the pringle can and whenever an important letter goes to the parents, the children would put it in their can and give it to their parents to open. I thought that was so clever. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2010, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creative-uses-for-a-pringles-can/545084/7 "2010-06-30T17:20:23Z")
I suppose you could make some kind of light fixture from the cans. Paint the outside, poke some holes in them in a pattern, attach some lighting that won’t get too hot. I can see it in my head but I can’t describe it well. I bet you could find some ideas on [instructables.com](http://instructables.com). ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2010, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creative-uses-for-a-pringles-can/545084/8 "2010-06-30T18:32:13Z")
Way back when, I used to use them to mail things in. Pringles cans happen to be just the right size to stick a couple of mixed tapes in, along with whatever handwritten messages are included. Think of them as cheap map tubes. 😛 I will be following this thread as well, since I enjoy the weird flavours Pringles comes out with, and could probably build a tree fort out of the cans if I didn’t throw them out. DIY habitrails, maybe? Our cats are too big now or I’d be all over it! ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2010, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creative-uses-for-a-pringles-can/545084/9 "2010-06-30T18:37:05Z")
Bury yourself in one? [QUOTE=some random website] Dr. Fredric J. Baur, the designer of the famous Pringles potato chips cylindrical containers has been buried, at his request, inside his iconic design. Well, a portion of his ashes were. Baur, who worked for P&G from the late 1940s to the early 1980s, was so proud of his design that he asked his family to bury him in one of his cans. The rest of his ashes were put in a regular urn and both were buried in his grave at Arlington Memorial Gardens in Springfield Township. [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2010, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creative-uses-for-a-pringles-can/545084/10 "2010-06-30T18:39:59Z")
I think Johnny Vegas wins this thread. Starting at 3:15… [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/2lGKuwVFi9k/hqdefault.jpg "(HQ) The Graham Norton Show with David Tennant (11/09) 2.0") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lGKuwVFi9k) ---
**Author:** ![Acid\_Lamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Acid\_Lamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acid_Lamp)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2010, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creative-uses-for-a-pringles-can/545084/11 "2010-06-30T18:42:53Z")
They are great for garage organizers. Turn them on their sides and punch a few holes in each one. Wire them together like a bandoleer and lay them on a shelf. Now you can toss all your little nails and screws and crap in them. ---
**Author:** ![Wallflower](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Wallflower](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallflower)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2010, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creative-uses-for-a-pringles-can/545084/12 "2010-06-30T18:44:08Z")
Back in the day (mid- 70’s?), my mother would use them as molds to make pillar candles. That worked out quite well, since if the candle didn’t want to come out of the mold, it was easy enough to just tear it away. ---
**Author:** ![missred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/missred/32/14096_2.png) [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2010, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creative-uses-for-a-pringles-can/545084/13 "2010-06-30T18:54:31Z")
I use them to store artist’s brushes, xacto knives and sharp, pokey things to take camping. No more slicing your thumb to ribbons reaching in the camp box. ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2010, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creative-uses-for-a-pringles-can/545084/14 "2010-06-30T19:05:41Z")
Well, the fleshlight had to have had a prototype. So, if you’re the “DIY” type anyway, it’s just another project. ---
**Author:** ![belladonna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9fc29f/32.png) [@belladonna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/belladonna)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2010, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creative-uses-for-a-pringles-can/545084/15 "2010-06-30T19:20:34Z")
When I was a girl I had a few on my dresser, wrapped in pretty contact paper, that I kept my hair ribbons, bands, and barrettes in. ---
**Author:** ![Cub\_Mistress](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea666f/32.png) [@Cub\_Mistress](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cub_Mistress)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2010, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creative-uses-for-a-pringles-can/545084/16 "2010-07-01T01:30:03Z")
They work well for mailing round cookies, just stack them inside and snap the lid on. The cookies stay fresh, even shipped to war zones. The Pre-Calculus class at our high school makes kaleidoscopes from them. I wonder if you could bake a round loaf of bread or quickbread in one. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2010, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creative-uses-for-a-pringles-can/545084/17 "2010-07-01T03:01:01Z")
> [@descamisado](#): > > Well, the fleshlight had to have had a prototype. So, if you’re the “DIY” type anyway, it’s just another project. It’s even better if you line it with raw liver. Just saying . . . . ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2010, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creative-uses-for-a-pringles-can/545084/18 "2010-07-01T04:37:41Z")
> [@canadiankorean](#): > > At my friend’s son’s elementary school, they use the pringle can as a way to deliver important messages to parents. > > The children get to decorate the pringle can and whenever an important letter goes to the parents, the children would put it in their can and give it to their parents to open. > > I thought that was so clever. [Homer] Doh! Stupid deliciously important messages! [Bart] Way to go pop, you can’t stop. ---
**Author:** ![clarkstar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/439d5e/32.png) [@clarkstar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clarkstar)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2010, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creative-uses-for-a-pringles-can/545084/19 "2010-07-01T13:34:53Z")
suitcase for cats [http://wiebo.files.wordpress.com/2007/07/107743.1.jpg](http://wiebo.files.wordpress.com/2007/07/107743.1.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2010, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creative-uses-for-a-pringles-can/545084/20 "2010-07-01T13:37:30Z")
I use them as a kind of prison for recidivist, non-stacking chips. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creative-uses-for-a-pringles-can/545084.md?page=2)