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

Snickers 5 months ago
Don't think I ever tried any of them
timothys71 18 months ago
O'Grady's, O'Boisies (Keebler), and Chipsters (Nabisco) are the ones I remember best from this list. Keebler also had Tato Skins--and T.G.I. Fridays still makes a version of them.
tootsieg 18 months ago
I remember Chipsters and O’Boises.
Gayleistoons 18 months ago
So judgey...the comments in this ad are boring. People have different tastes.
MattSwanson 18 months ago
What I wouldn't give for a cardboard barrel of Kitty Clover potato chips -- our favorite made in Omaha.
tsemczuk 32 months ago
Look at #5 again. That's NOT Tom Bosley.
MattSwanson tsemczuk 18 months ago
Definitely not! From left to right: Stanley Adams, Jamie Farr, unknown woman, the great Mike Mazurki & Len Lesser -- Uncle Leo on Seinfeld! Never heard of the chips, btw.
Stephen79 35 months ago
While NOT a potato chip, Dorito's made a sesame tortilla chip once. Would love to have them again !
danwat12345 40 months ago
Moala potato chips on Charlie's Angels 5x03 Angels of the Deep
Jada 44 months ago
I loved O'Boisies & really wish Keebler would bring them back.
TedDinsmore 46 months ago
O'Grady's Loaded Thick Cut...I think all of theirs are...were the ballz. With a large grilled Reuben, that thick cut...jeeezus.
LeeHarper 49 months ago
[image=https://weigel-comments.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/Ditdw-1600903680-pickle lays.jpg]
scp LeeHarper 47 months ago
So addictive...
Dario LeeHarper 47 months ago
Cool! 🥒🥒🥒🥒🥒 😃😃😃😃😃
Pauly_789 49 months ago
I loved Ozark BBQ chips as a kid in Indiana. Grippos is very similar, sad they are not sold in Florida.
TonyKuchta 49 months ago
10 years ago , we could buy "Old Dutch" , a full pound of potato chips in a box of 2 half pound bags for under a buck , Why all the greed ?
idkwut2use 49 months ago
As a fruit fanatic whose all-time favorite potato chip is the Lay’s “Do Us a Flavor” contestant mango salsa...which should’ve won and become standard...I actually really want to try #7. :3
DogPatch1149 50 months ago
O'Gradys (the regular flavor) were excellent chips to dip in french onion, usually Country Fresh or Dean's.

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."
idkwut2use 53 months ago
#7 is...intriguing? I’m almost always interested in fruity stuff...xD;
SalIanni 54 months ago
My favorite chips have always been ketchup chips no matter what brand they came from!


BartBusterna 58 months ago
That's NOT Tom Bosley in the DITTOS ad. L to R Stanley Adams, Jamie Farr, ?, Mike Mazurki, Len Lesser.
stagebandman BartBusterna 54 months ago
It's the cast from "The Chicago Teddy Bears". You'd think a site that was all about classic TV would have known that.
Dario BartBusterna 47 months ago
Absolutely correct! Tom Bosley never appeared in that series. He was doing Shasta Soda commercials in the early 1970s when that bomb of a series aired.
Dario stagebandman 47 months ago
MeTV has tons of dolts working for it, unfortunately. 😒
April 59 months ago
Oh man, Chipsters were my FAVORITE thing ever as a kid. Somebody needs to bring those back!
EricFuller 67 months ago
What about Clover Club? Red Seal?
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