National Popcorn Day
Many years before movies were around, there was popcorn! Archeologist have made us believe that popcorn is actually a “stone age snack”.
Researchers found 80,000-year-old corn pollen below Mexico City. These corn pollens are exactly the same as modern corn pollen, meaning cave people most likely had popcorn.
The oldest corn pollen ever found was discovered in the “Bat Cave” of central New Mexico. This pollen is believed to be 5,600 years old. Archaeologists have found prehistoric kernels of popcorn that are so well preserved that they can still pop!
In fact, popcorn only became popular to Americans in the 19th century. It became a well-known snack food which is why you can now find it in parks, movie theaters, at sporting events, and even street vendors.
During World War II, when sugar was rationed, Americans were forced to change their snacking habits. Americans were now eating three times as much popcorn as they had before compared to other sugary treats.
Today, the perfect place to eat popcorn is at the movies. Back in the 1930’s and 1940’s, it was the exact same scenario. However, when television took off in the 1950s, popcorn sales dropped for a while.
Americans now consume more popcorn than could fill the Empire State Building. That is more than fifty popped quarts per person, per year. That’s a lot of popcorn!
Celebrate National Popcorn Day, today, and get popping.
Written By: Amanda Haase