Talk:Foam peanut

Origin?
Anybody know how the foam peanut came about? It seems like an odd shape for package fill material, yet it's ubiquitous today. Is it easier to manufacture? Does it have better handling characteristics? Why a peanut? --69.227.176.75 05:21, 9 November 2007 (UTC)
 * Quick search of google patents turned up http://www.google.com/patents?id=XscaAAAAEBAJ&printsec=abstract&zoom=4&dq=loose+fill+packing a 1965 patent. The shape is so they interlock when compressed and free flow when uncompressed. The plastic is so it doesn't get moldy. Gront (talk) 04:34, 19 February 2008 (UTC)

Originally developed & patented by Dow Chemical as an additional market by polystyrene. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Mnpitman (talk • contribs) 17:25, 17 March 2008 (UTC)


 * The Dow Chemical Company is not mentioned at all in the 1965 patent referenced on this page. In fact, the assignee of the patent is clearly listed as Tektronix, which doesn't appear to be a subsidiary of the Dow Chemical Company. Dow may hold the patents to extruded polystyrene e.g. Styrofoam brand, but the "loose fill packing material" patent no. 3188264 is not theirs. Dow does hold patent no. 4588638 published in 1986, an improved design on Styrofoam dunnage. Moreover, Dow-Cargill (NatureWorks) is one of the foremost patent holders as regards PLA films and foams today used in the manufacture of starch packing peanuts. The 1965 date is all over the internet but I have yet to see anything other than this seemingly faulty Wikipedia citation to corroborate it.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.175.67.67 (talk) 14:39, 24 April 2011 (UTC)

Ghost farts? Where did that come from? Centrisian (talk) 17:50, 22 April 2008 (UTC)


 * Doesn't burning packing peanuts let off toxic fumes? --Homestar tiger —Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.184.150.101 (talk) 20:23, 23 April 2008 (UTC)

This is purely commentary (and praise!)...: I can't help but love the sentence: "heavy objects tend to migrate to the bottom of the box during shipping", it conjours up a mental image of glass paperweights industriously burrowing their way down through the box in a bid for freedom... Nice writing! :-) Damage (talk) 21:03, 13 November 2008 (UTC)

Don't attract bugs
This site says the packing peanuts made from starch don't attract bugs or rodents. Could s.o. verify and edit the article if needed, THKS. 71.236.26.74 (talk) 17:42, 30 July 2009 (UTC)


 * From the sources listed in the article:
 * The starch is ... "Stripped of its nutritional value"
 * "In the early stages of the manufacturing process, the sugars and any food value are removed from the starch used to produce the peanuts, which eliminates the materials that are attractive to pests."
 * "they are not manufactured under food-grade quality conditions and, therefore, are not meant for human or pet consumption."
 * And I wasn't able to find any references to "starch packing peanuts pest" problems in a quick Google search.
 * How is it possible to remove nutritional value of starch, a molecule? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Wikitrumpets (talk • contribs) 02:45, 22 August 2020 (UTC)
 * Until there is a referenced article that talks about pests, the article should reflect the existing sources. I'll fix it. twilsonb (talk) 00:49, 15 August 2009 (UTC)

Popcorn As An Alternate Name...
Growing up, we used to call this stuff "styrofoam popcorn." In fact, I thought it was odd the first time I heard a high school teacher refer to it as "peanuts." And, of course, because of Black's Law, I've been hearing it referred to as peanuts ever since.

But, popcorn is a legitimate alternate name for it. Here's a brief list of sources: (sources redacted because Wikipedia suspiciously blocks links from those sources) You know what? Let's skip the individual links and go straight for the search results: http://www.bing.com/search?q=%2B%22styrofoam+popcorn%22&qs=n&form=QBRE&pq=%2B%22styrofoam+popcorn%22&sc=5-20&sp=-1&sk=&cvid=bb05b2e23aa942c085396f142315779d

There ya go. 26,800 results for the exact phrase, "styrofoam popcorn." That means there are over 20 thousand individual websites that call the stuff, "styrofoam popcorn."

There are still over 11,000 results for "styrofoam popcorn," that exclude the word, "peanuts": http://www.bing.com/search?q=%2B%22styrofoam+popcorn%22+-peanuts&qs=n&form=QBRE&pq=%2B%22styrofoam+popcorn%22+-peanuts&sc=5-21&sp=-1&sk=&cvid=4cdcb8c4717f4c708fb3db88ed13dbab

That's a not insignificant number of people. I move to have, "styrofoam popcorn" included as an alternate name for the stuff on the grounds that a large number of people know it by that name exclusively, and an even larger number of people know it by that name among others.

Certainly, more people call it popcorn than, "noodles." In fact, I've never heard it referred to as noodles. Ever. On second thought, I move that we remove noodles and replace it with popcorn.50.168.176.243 (talk) 18:40, 13 August 2014 (UTC)

"Packing noodles" is also a common term for it: https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=%22foam+peanuts%22+%22packing+noodles%22 so that's been added back in. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Gawzyknob (talk • contribs) 21:10, 21 August 2014 (UTC)

I worked for years alongside and in shipping departments. Foam packing has been called peanuts, noodles and popcorn for many years. What surprises me about this conversation is that no one has mentioned the obvious. All three terms are used in reference to the shape of any single piece of the packing material. "Peanuts" LOOK like peanuts due to the figure-eight shape similar to a peanut shell. Noodles are the elongated pieces that look like short strands of really fat spaghetti that's been cut up. Popcorn looks like popcorn. It's pretty simple. There should be an image of all three. The image of noodles should have it's caption changed because those are not packing peanuts, they are packing noodles. However, I do NOT want to suggest the article should be moved (renamed). I really don't think it should. Peanut is the oldest term to my knowledge and most used so it should stay, but the article really should include information about all three types, as well as images. SentientParadox (talk) 22:22, 26 March 2018 (UTC)

Consumption
Hello, recently I have eaten 5 packing peanuts. I find them bland and was hoping for any packing peanut recipes. Thank you :) 2600:100E:B1C0:EE21:47:F530:431A:FA9F (talk) 20:08, 8 December 2021 (UTC)