National Potato Chip Day is a holiday that is celebrated on March 14th. Although it might seem curious to some people to have a holiday devoted to something as simple as potato chips, it’s not as surprising when you consider that this snack item is one of the most popular snack foods in America. Chips are so popular, in fact, that Americans consume approximately 1.2 billion pounds of them each year.

The History of Potato Chips

Potato chips were invented in 1853 by George Crum—at least, that’s what the legend says. Crum was a chef, either of Native American or African American ancestry, depending on who is telling the story. One day, while Mr. Crum was making fries, a customer complained that his fries were too thick, so Crum took it upon himself to slice some potatoes razor-thin and deep-fry them. Those chips would become known as Saratoga Chips—after the name of Saratoga Springs, New York—the place where they were prepared.

As the story goes, William Tappendon began selling and marketing his version of potato chips in 1895 in Cleveland, Ohio. Another innovator of the potato chip was Herman Lay, a guy who sold potato chips out of the trunk of his car during the 1920s. Since then, a variety of different companies all over the world have put their spin on the potato chip, and the public has eaten it up.

Perfect Potato Chip Facts

We’ve uncovered some cool facts about these crunchy snacks, so we decided to share them with anyone and everyone interested in hearing about them. With that said, let’s take a quick look at them before we run out and buy a new bag of chips.

• During WWII, potato chip production had to be halted because it was deemed nonessential food.
• During the 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic, the likelihood of Americans buying Lay’s potato chips increased by a third.
• Potato chip bags are partially unfilled to add cushioning that protects the chips from damage during shipping.
• Doritos have released over 100 different types of chips over the last five decades.
• Each Doritos chip has approximately thirty ingredients.
• Pennsylvania has been called the Potato Chip Capital of the world.
• More chips are made in Pennsylvania than in any other state in the U.S.
• The oldest potato chip company in the U.S. is Mikesell’s Potato Chips. It was established in 1910.
• Bags of Lay’s flavored chips have fewer chips than a bag of Lay’s plain chips.

Celebrating National Potato Chip Day

A person can celebrate this holiday by reaching for their favorite brand of bagged or canned potato chips, or by taking the time to make some homemade potato chips. Anyone celebrating this holiday might also want to use the hashtag #NationalPotatoChipDay to let everyone know that they’re celebrating this holiday.