Hope you had a good weekend! — Dan

Pictured above are a bunch of cans of Pringles, the not-a-chips (you’ll see) that you’re almost certainly familiar with. (Admittedly, I’ve never heard of Prawn Cocktail flavored ones before writing this — they, unlike me, are British.) Across the top of each can, above the “Pringles” wordmark, is a man with floating eyebrows and a very pronounced mustache. His name is Julius Pringles.

But it shouldn’t be.

The name “Julius Pringles” has a good sound to it — it’s distinguished, maybe even Victorian. It’s the kind of name you’d expect from a man whose entire personality is “arched eyebrows and a bow tie,” or at least, a name you’d believe that a high-priced marketing firm could develop for such a character. But as of 2005, that wasn’t his name. If the man atop the can had a name at all, it was “Mr. P,” which, uh, isn’t very classy at all. But the next year, that changed.

It started as a joke.

In December 2006, two college kids, Justin Shillock and Michael Wiseman, were sitting in their dorm room watching a football game and eating some Sour Cream & Onion Pringles. That’s when, per Input Magazine, Justin asked a seemingly innocuous question — he wanted to know what Michael thought the Pringles guy’s name was. Not having a clue, Michael noted that one of the football players on the screen was named Julius Peppers, so he simply replied “Julius Pringles.”

Justin decided to take the remark one step further. A long-time Wikipedia editor, he added this “fact” to the Pringles entry in the online encyclopedia. There’s no citation, but it didn’t matter — the tidbit stuck around on that Wikipedia page for a few months. In the interim, per the Guardian, the pair “made a Facebook group – ‘Who knew he was named Julius Pringles?’ – to help embed the claim further.” And that combination gave just enough credibility to the “Julius” name that it stuck.

Fast forward to 2013. Procter & Gamble, which founded the Pringles brand decades earlier, sold it to Kellogg’s. And Kellogg’s marketing team nearly immediately began referring to the Pringles man as “Julius.” And in their fiscal year 2021 report (pdf), they made it official, stating that “our trademarks also include logos and depictions of certain animated characters in conjunction with our products, including […] Mr. P or Julius Pringles for Pringles crisps.”

And with that, the joke became reality. The man with the mustache, now and forever, is officially Julius Pringles.

Reduce eyebags, dark spots and wrinkles with the #1 selling anti-aging solution for men. Based on advanced clinical research, Particle Face Cream ensures you look and feel your best every day. Get 20% off now with the code BH20!

Get 20% Off Today

Today’s Bonus fact: As noted above, Pringles aren’t actually potato chips. On the company’s website, the product is called “crisps” (and if you’re eagle-eyed, you may have noticed the same word used in the FY2021 report, quoted above). That’s not because the brand has some love for British phrasing. It’s because of the Food and Drug Administration. As Food & Wine reports, in 1975, the FDA ruled that Pringles couldn’t be called “potato chips” because “their product was made from dehydrated potatoes, not thin slices of fried potatoes.” The agency allowed Procter & Gamble to call them “potato chips made from dried potatoes,” but P&G figured it’d be easier to just go with “crisps.”

Double Bonus: Fred Bauer, one of the inventors of Pringles, passed away in 2008. He was cremated and his remains were then buried. Per his request, instead of a traditional urn, some of his now-buried ashes were placed in a Pringles can.

From the Archives: Why Once You Pop, You Can’t Stop: Why Pringles are so addictive.

Now I Know is supported by readers like you. Yes, you! Many of my readers donate a few dollars a month to help Now I Know grow and thrive. And in exchange, they get an ad-free version!

Interested in supporting Now I Know? Click here!

And thanks! — Dan