The Real Reason Chips Packets Are So Noisy

We all have felt the anxiety and stress that pops up when you try to eat a packet of chips in a quiet environment like the movies or a business meeting.

You keep trying your best to open it as quietly as possible but to no avail, it’s almost as if you can hear the crackling of the chips packet echoing into the universe as you open it and I’ve always wondered why.

Seriously why couldn’t they just have put chips in a cotton bag or something – anything that doesn’t break the sound barrier every time you open it, but apparently there is a very important and strategic reason why manufacturers have made packets so freaking noisy!

In a study carried out by Oxford University, they found that chips which were loud to eat seemed to taste better. They found that participants who ate potato chips while wearing headphones found them to be “stale and spongy”, whereas those who could hear the rustle of the packet felt that the chips tasted fresher. Who would’ve thought?

Here’s the gist – we use our other senses to taste food and as crazy as it sounds, even our sense of hearing can influence how we experience the food we eat.

Now when it comes to chips, we associate it with a crunch, so the sound complements the taste but if we don’t hear it, our brains think something is off.

So okay fair enough that explains that – but it still doesn’t make opening a chips packet in a quiet space any less awkward, right?