The backlash is surprisingly fierce. There's a Facebook group called "SORRY BUT I CAN'T HEAR YOU OVER THIS SUN CHIPS BAG." There is a blog post entitled "Potato Chip Technology That Destroys Your Hearing." The author, J. Scot Heathman (an Air Force pilot, the Journal adds) films himself first expressing surprise and approval over the bag's biodegradability. "But there is a downfall to this technology," he then says, "and the downfall is that this bag is freaking loud." That's when he pulls out a sound meter out and starts massaging a bag of Tostitos (a control group) while measuring decibels.
Sun Chips, you know, you got a good thing going here. I'm a big fan of recycling--we do it daily. But this bag is not only dangerous, this thing is so freaking loud and I tell you what as a pilot, the inside of the cockpit of my jet isn't even this loud. ... This is definitely not something I'm taking into the library or something that i'm going to take into church, which is normally where I like to eat potato chips.
Ruined church routine aside, Heathman is careful to praise the technology behind the bag and express his support for environmentally-friendly packaging. The Wall Street Journal, by contrast, documents the trauma this bag may be causing to children across the country:
At Ladd Elementary in Fairbanks, Alaska, 12-year-old Mackenzie brought some Sun Chips to a party to mark the end of the school year. When she opened the bag, everyone looked her way, she says."Please try to open your bag quieter, Mackenzie," she said her teacher replied.
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Heather Horn



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