Indiana Native Invented One of the Most Popular Snack Foods

When it comes to snacks, there are a lot of options. However, one of the most popular snacks in America was created all thanks to an Indiana native.

I don't know about you, but my favorite snack food is chips. I love chips. As you know, it's hard to just eat a few. You open up a bag of chips and the next thing you know, that bag is almost empty. That's especially true when it comes to Doritos. My goodness...those things are delicious. My favorite Doritos is the taco flavor. They are highly underrated. If you haven't tried them, you're missing out. That being said, I am sure that you have had a bag of Doritos quite a few times in your life. Everyone knows that after you finish a bag, you can't waste that delectable Doritos dust off of your fingers. You don't waste a bit. As a matter of fact, when it comes to Doritos, I learned something pretty cool today about their creation.

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Doritos Were Invented by an Indiana Man

Yes, it's true! In a way, we have Indiana to thank for some of the most iconic chips of all time. Archibald Clark West was born Sept. 8, 1914, in Indianapolis to Scottish immigrants. According to The Washington Post, Arch West, a former executive of Frito-Lay, invented Doritos in the 1960s, which quickly gained popularity and became a national favorite. The story behind Doritios is quite fascinating. The Washington Post reports:

<div class="wpds-c-PJLV article-body" data-qa="article-body"><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" dir="null" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" data-el="text">He was on a family vacation in Southern California in 1964 when he first bought a grease-smeared bag of toasted tortillas at a roadside shack.</p></div><div class="wpds-c-PJLV article-body" data-qa="article-body"><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" dir="null" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" data-el="text">As marketing vice president at Frito-Lay, Mr. West immediately sensed he had stumbled upon a snacking phenomenon.</p></div><div class="wpds-c-PJLV article-body" data-qa="article-body"><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" dir="null" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" data-el="text">When he returned to work, Mr. West pitched his idea: a crispy, triangle-shaped corn chip that would complement the company’s lighter Lay’s potato chip and the thicker, curly Frito.</p></div>

Now, reports suggest that these triagle-shaped tortilla snacks began at Disney, but it was West who brought them to consumers all over the world with Doritos. You can take a look in the video below.

West passed away in September of 2011 at age 97. Mr. West was so invested in his creation that he ate Doritos his entire life and was sometimes sent batches to taste-test. The Washington Post article says that Mr. West’s cremated remains were placed in an un and buried in a vault. At a memorial service, family members dusted his grave with layers of Doritos.

LOOK: Food history from the year you were born

From product innovations to major recalls, Stacker researched what happened in food history every year since 1921, according to news and government sources.

Gallery Credit: Joni Sweet