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14 extinct potato chips you will never crunch again
Are you ready to go Tato Wild again?
Few things pair better with watching television than a big bowl of potato chips. There are dozens of options out there. You want 'em thick or thin? Barbecue, sour cream & onion, or salt & vinegar? Ridges? Kettle cooked or baked?
That being said, dozens of brands have come and gone over the decades. Frankly, this list could go on for ages, what with all the small regional friers pumping out tins of potato chips back in the day. They came in cans, they came in boxes. Today, you can still find these beloved cult brands tucked away around the country, like Herr's, Humpty Dumpty and Granny Goose.
We're going to stick with more national brands here. Do you remember seeing these — or even eating them? What do you miss the most?
1. Tato Wilds
The Keebler elves got X-TREME like most post–Mountain Dew brands in the 1990s with Tato Wilds. "Rip into something wild!" the commercial dares, as if eating a bag of snacks was akin to surfing the North Shore. How wild were they? They were waffled!
Image: Keebler
2. Crunch Tators
The preferred snack of Kevin McCallister, Frito Lay pushed this new product in Home Alone. He had a bag of Mighty Mesquite in the movie, but there was a Hoppin' Jalapeño on offer, too, when these things were on the shelves in the late-'80s, early-'90s.
Image: Home Alone / 20th Century Fox
3. O'Gradys
Like them thick? O'Gradys were for you. You could practically flip these like a coin. The cheesy Au Gratin flavor was a particular favorite.
Image: YouTube
4. Ozark
Beloved by those living in Missouri, Illinois, Arkansas and other central states in the 1970s, Ozark chips brought sweetness and spice. And grease.
Image: neatocoolville / Flickr
5. Dittos
Laura Scudder's launched this Pringles-like chip circa the early 1970s. You can tell by the fact that Jamie Farr and Tom Bosley are two celebs in the ad. Like, Pringles, they were made from potato flakes and stamped into the same shape, hence the name.
Image: Yesterdish
6. Chipos
Hey, these cross-hatched chips were doing Tato Wilds two decades earlier and not being so braggy about it.
Image: General Mills
7. Hostess Grape, Orange and Cherry Potato Chips
Blame Canada. North of the border, Hostess is a major player in the chip game. In the 1970s, briefly, the company boldly launched fruit flavors, which was akin to dumping a packet of Kool-Aid in your bag. Unsurprisingly, they flopped, but some still claim to be haunted by the aftertaste.
Image: Hostess
8. Planters
The peanut people got into the chip biz with this tall can of Pringles clones. "Now there are two stackable potato chips in town," the commercial boasted. In fact, they had nuns take a taste test. "It's taste more like the potatoes I used to get back in Donegal," one Irish sister declared.
Image: Planters
9. Blue Bell
Potato chips in a box! They don't get smashed! Brilliant!
Image: Vintage Adventures
10. Muhammad Ali Potato Chips
The Greatest tried to launch a line of snacks in the early 1990s. They were not the greatest.
Image: eBay / dogscountry
11. Daddy Crisp
For several reasons, you will not see a comeback of this brand. Most of all, because it used the oily tagline, "Love your daddy."
Image: YouTube
12. O'Boisies
"O'Boisies are o'boisterous!" the jingle proclaimed, upping the vocabulary level of the average commercial break.
Image: Keebler / YouTube
13. Joey Chips
General Mills threw some corn into the batter with Joey Chips in 1967.
Image: General Mills
14. Chipsters
Nabisco had its own processed, boxed potato "snack," too.
Image: Nabisco
SEE MORE: 12 crispy, salty snack foods from the 1960s
We miss Dippy Canoes and Whistles, too. READ MORE
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26 Comments
I miss the old style Pringles rippled thick crisps. The closest I've found today to that flavor (but not the rippled texture) are Lays Stax regular flavor. Keep telling my kids, "This is what Pringles USED to taste like."
