Inspiration hit me yesterday at a quarter past nine of the good clock. I was sat upon the upper deck of a boat which is licensed to sell alcohol to visitors from its mooring upon the Thames. One of my colleagues was leaving our company so we were spending the evening saying goodbye and sharing fond memories over a few drinks and a lesser number of bags of crisps (chips), gently rocking to and fro upon the river’s steady flow.
When the crisps were exhausted, the bags sat upon the wooden table where the wind would occasionally cause them to flutter. Each time a gust would catch a packet, someone would manage to send a hand in that direction to head it off but, as the night drew in, our reactions deteriorated and wind grew stronger. Some of us would use an ashtray or empty glass as a crude plastic-weight and others tried to jam the packets between the wooden slats of the table but both these approaches were far from ideal and quite often a packet would do a Steve McQueen.
My suggestion then is a flat clip, fastened to the top of the table, near the centre, which could be used to snare an empty packet. The clip would be similar to a money clip, quite flat but with a slight curve at the opening to make inserting a packet a one-handed operation.-- oniony, Aug 24 2005 Tablecloth clip http://www.shop.com...-9050070?sourceid=3 [DrCurry, Aug 24 2005] Appologies for the categorisation -- 'tis the best I could find.-- oniony, Aug 24 2005 Many restaurants use clips to hold tablecloths in place on outdoor tables. Tuck the bags under one of those.
But my vote would be for making crisp/chip bags edible - no waste at all, then.-- DrCurry, Aug 24 2005 That's why outdoor picnic/pub tables have slats in them a) to allow rapid liquid drainage in the event of spillage/rain b) to accomodate a correctly scrunched/folded crisp packet from blowing away. The addition of a clip would be pretty good too.-- zen_tom, Aug 24 2005 //making crisp/chip bags edible // oh, please! you don't know where that bag's been...-- po, Aug 24 2005 The idea is not bad, your waiter was.-- zeno, Aug 24 2005 Idea is fine. Also useful if you are drawing or noting at a breeze-swept table. As regards your server, you'll also know how you're pegged when s/he fastens your check in front of you.-- reensure, Aug 24 2005 Learn to fold the empty packets into triangles, it cuts down surface area so they don't blow away, it gives you something to do for 20 seconds, and then you can throw them quite far - giving rise to any number of drink fuelled games. (Also makes a pretty snazzy napoleon-esque hat for your fingers).-- fridge duck, Aug 24 2005 I always feel that the triangulation of crips packets comes across a bit geeky (no offence). But then I can hardly claim to the contrary.-- oniony, Aug 25 2005 maybe if the clip were made out of a durable crisp hidden within the bag-- benfrost, Aug 25 2005 Or a single, uncooked potato is included in the bag. That should weigh the bag down enough to thwart the wind.-- Texticle, Aug 25 2005 I really don't think the crisp companies would put a whole potato in each pack, since they must get such high profits from spreading one potato between an entire multi-pack.-- fridge duck, Aug 26 2005 It takes four pounds of potato to make one pound of crisps.
The crisp companies would love to sell whole potatoes, if someone was willing to pay £4 for a pound of potatoes.-- TheBearMadeMeDoIt, Aug 26 2005 i'd buy an entire salt and vinegar potato in crisp form. sounds delectable-- benfrost, Aug 26 2005 random, halfbakery