The Advance

Issue date: 10/20/06 Section: News

American's consume 17 billion quarts of popcorn every year.  That is 54 quarts for every man, woman and child.  If you made a trail of popcorn from New York City to Los Angeles, you would need about 352,028,160 popped kernels. 

Popcorn is not only delicious but also healthy for you.  Popcorn is a whole grain and only 31 calories per cup.  If you pop it in oil it is has only 55 calories per cup. 

You can make many deserts with popcorn such as popcorn balls.  The world's largest popcorn ball, as measured by the Guinness Book of World Records, is 12 feet in diameter, and containings0 pounds of sugar, 280 gallons of corn syrup, and 400 gallons of water.

Everyone loves the great taste of buttered popcorn.  But some people like other flavors such as caramel, cheese or garlic.

Popcorn is one of the oldest American foods and has had a significant role in our history.  Some of the oldest ears of popcorn were found in 1948 by archaeologists exploring the Bat Cave in west central New Mexico.  They were proven to be about 4,000 years old.  Popcorn was used for ceremonies also.  In Chile, kernels of popcorn found in burial grounds and were almost 1,000 years old.  Popcorn was also used as a staple in the Native Americans' diet and also for decoration.  The Indians used popcorn in their ceremonies.  The young women danced a "popcorn dance" as they wore garlands of popcorn in their hair. 

Another thing they did with popcorn was that they threw kernels directly into the fire or into heated sand.  When it popped the corn was sifted and pounded into a fine powder and then mixed with water.  They ate this while they were traveling because it was very handy. 

It wasn't until the late 1800s that popcorn became very popular in the United States.  Charles Cretors, in 1893, introduced the world's first mobile popcorn machine at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago.  Scientific American reported:
"This machine…. was designed with the idea of moving it about to any location where the operator would be likely to do a good business.  The apparatus, which is light and strong, and weighting but 400 or 500 pounds, can be drawn readily by a boy or by a small pony to any picnic ground, fair, political rally, etc., and to many other places where a good business could be done for a day or two."

During the Depression, popcorn was sold for five or ten cents a bag.  It was considered a luxury for the people struggling during the time period.  During World War II was when people ate three times as much popcorn because the sugar used for making candy was sent to the U.S. troops overseas.  And thanks to engineer Percy Spencer, we have the microwave.  He accidentally discovered that microwave radio signals could be used to cook foods. 

When we go to the movies, the one thing we have to have is popcorn.  The movie theater made its presence in the U.S. in the late 1920's.  Amazingly, many theatre owners refused to sell popcorn in their theaters because they thought it was too messy.  So vendors set up popcorn poppers right next to the theaters and sold popcorn before the people went into the theater.  Eventually, some of the theaters started selling popcorn in their theaters, and those who didn't eventually went out of business.

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