3/1/2003
By Cara Sutermeister
The chip's out of the bag: Learn how our favorite snack food sprouted from an act of revenge 150 years ago and became a symbol of American culture.
Americans certainly can't contain themselves around potato chips. This crispy snack is a true American original — invented, refined, produced and consumed in the United States. A Fourth of July picnic isn't a real picnic without chips. A true American couch potato can't lounge on the sofa watching football games without munching on them. And we definitely can't eat just one: The Snack Food Association estimates that we eat a whopping 2.7 billion potato chips on Super Bowl Sunday alone.
When America's preferred munchy turns 150 this year, we aren't going to show any signs of stopping.