Have you hugged your chips lately?

Potato chips sure do make for a great summer snack. They don’t melt away like chocolate does in the heat, and also provide much needed salt to help keep us hydrated. But little did we know that bags of chips also have the power to save lives.

According to the AQUAkids Safety Project, a non-profit dedicated to teaching water safety, it’s possible to use an unopened bag of chips as a flotation device. They say an average size bag has enough buoyancy to keep a 100-kilogram (220-pound) man afloat, because of the air injected into them to help prevent the chips from breaking.

▼ A news report on AQUAkids that shows the chips in action

AQUAkids holds special swimming safety lessons in which they enter pools wearing regular clothes to better understand how heavy they can be in emergency situations. They also try out impromptu floatation devices such as empty plastic bottles and bags of potato chips. One of the kids who attended the lesson said that the chips were easier to hold onto than the bottles.

It’s probably worth noting that chip bags in Japan tend to be sealed rather tightly, possibly making them less likely to pop when squeezed than bags made in other countries. Just something to bear in mind if you’re ever in a situation where you need to use chips to stay afloat in different parts of the world.

▼ Something seafood-flavored seems appropriate for this, but then again, it might also attract sharks.

According to the National Police Agency, the number of drowning incidents has been on the rise in Japan and is currently at the highest it’s been in the past 10 years. Lessons like these have been one way to help spread awareness about ways to avoid tragic accidents while trying to cool off in the intense heat of summer.

The news left online readers conflicted. Many of us have lamented the increasing amount of air in bags of chips as a result of shrinkflation, only to now realize that makes them more effective life-saving tools. Others pointed out the deadly temptation to eat your flotation device while bobbing out in the water with nothing else to do.

“The volume of those things is mostly air.”
“Let’s all buy the chips that rip you off the most!”
“But if you’re hungry too, it’ll be hard to resist opening the bag. Maybe something like banana chips are better.”
“These days it’s like buying a bag of air with some chips inside.”
“The tragedy is that the closer the guy is to 100 kilos, the harder it is not to open the bag.”
“If it’s the French salad flavor, I’m as good as dead.”
“I’m going to buy some Pringles right now!”

Jokes aside, that is a really handy tip to remember should an emergency occur. It’s also great that I can always keep a bag on hand, and my wife can’t complain because it’s in the name of disaster preparedness!

Source: MBS News, Itai News
Photos: © SoraNews24
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