Snap, crackle, pop: It’s National Popcorn Day
- Popcorn was first discovered in the 1960s, and is said to be over 5600 years old
- It was first sold at fairs and theatres, and soon with the invention of microwave popcorn, it became a household snack
- Jan 19 is called National Popcorn Day
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What are movies without a tub of popcorn in hand? This ubiquitous food item has made its way from the movie halls to our living rooms. Let’s celebrate its journey on National Popcorn Day.
Some Pop History:
Popcorn has been around since the time of the stone ages. The discovery of the first kernel was found in the caves of New Mexico in the 60s and was thought to be over 5000-years-old. It is also believed that popcorn was also consumed in China and India before Columbus’ New World Discovery. The Europeans got a taste of the popcorn through the Spanish conquerors.
In North America, it soon became a snack, with the invention of the first popcorn machine in 1885 in Chicago, Illinois, and it was found in parks and fairs.
The concept of the microwave popcorn was introduced in 1946, through an accidental experiment. According to visionlaunch, “an employee for the Raytheon Corporation was conducting experiments with a magnetron. His name was Dr. Percy Spencer and he really loved eating chocolate. One day while working with the magnetron, he discovered that the chocolate bar that he’d kept in his pocket for later had melted. Curious about this, he began to experiment with other foods to see what would happen as well. One of those food items was popcorn, which popped when brought into proximity of the magnetron. Raytheon loved the idea and so did Spencer. They realized they were onto something with the food heating that could happen and this eventually led to the invention of the microwave. Spencer himself actually holds the patent for microwave popcorn. It could be said, however, that the invention of microwave popcorn is what actually led to the invention of the microwave."
However, the first microwave popcorn bag patent was issued to General Mills in 1981.
Thus, the popcorn made its way from the stone ages to fairs and finally into our living rooms!
Popcorn Trivia:
- It was once eaten with milk and sugar
- Jolly Time was America’s first branded popcorn
- Popcorn comes in two shapes when popped: mushroom and snowflake
- There are terms for unpopped popcorn: spinsters and old maids
- Jan 19 is known as National Popcorn Day, while the month of October is dedicated to popcorn
- Zea Mays Everta is the scientific term for popcorn
- Weird popcorn flavours include: beer, pumpkin, marshmallow among others
- (Source: factretriever.com)
Watch: Health Benefits of Popcorn
