Crisp End for Pringles Inventor

As a final wish, Fredrick J. Baur, the man who designed the Pringles packing system, will be buried in one of the icon cans.

Baur, who was 89, died last month in Cincinnati, was cremated. Part of his remains were placed in a Pringles can and buried in Springfield Township, and the rest was given to his grandson.

The chemist, who retired from Proctor & Gamble in the early 1980s, joins other American inventors, who chose their celebrate their life's work in death.

Among the others:

• Ultimate Frisbee: When 78-year-old Frisbee inventor Ed Headrick died in 2002, family members announced that they would honor his wish and mold his ashes into a flying disc. That's great news for kids. Even after the memorial service, they can play catch with grandpa.
• The Final Frontier: In September 1999, the ashes of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, along with those of LSD guru Timothy Leary, boldly went where no urn had gone before -- into orbit, via a U.S. satellite.
• A Comic Ending: Marvel Comics editor Mark Gruenwald was a creative force behind such classics as Captain America and Quasar. In 1996, his wife honored his final request and mixed his ashes with ink during the printing of a comic book. There's a little piece of him in Squadron Supreme, a limited-run poster of Marvel characters that's popular with collectors.

Other Weird News Headlines

• Still Smokin': Europe's oldest man, a 112-year-old WW1 veteran, credits 'cigarettes, whiskey and wild, wild women' for his good health (Silly Smokers);
• Cocaine Christ: Border police find coke in Jesus statue (Dumb Crime Du Jour);
• You Bet Your Life: Terminally ill man wins bet to stay alive (Morbid Pleasures);
• Fertile Imagination: Iowa man claims large bags of marijuana were for 'composting,' not smoking (You Must Be Wasted);
• Jumpin' Genitalia: Man jumps from courthouse, says his penis was 'rotting' in jail (Prison Weirdness).

Photo © Pringles.com