In 1948,
kernels of an early corn variety capable of being popped were found in an
archaeological dig in a New Mexico rock shelter known as "Bat Cave."
This was widely
reported as being the oldest ears of popcorn ever found. Such reports often say they are dated to be
4000-5000 years old, or more. The
actual facts about the Bat Cave corn are less clear. While initial reports
dated the corn to be 4000-5000 years old, in 1967 the same researchers revealed
data from more specifically targeted dating: a sample consisting only of cobs
was dated to be 1,752 years old, and a sample of cobs and nearby wood 2,249
years.
Even
these dates have been called into question.
Michael S. Berry, after a study of the Bat Cave procedures, wrote it
"was a poorly excavated site that can be interpreted nearly any way one
pleases by juggling the data."
What is
know is that in early times popcorn was prepared by using a bowl containing sand
and placing the bowl over a fire, the sand heated the kernels and the popped popcorn
rose to the top from under the sand.
Popcorn
was very popular in the 1890s, until the Great Depression.
As corn
crops became more depleted during the Great Depression, nuts were consumed by
many instead of corn.
What's
more, during the Depression, popcorn was considered a luxury at 5-10 cents a
bag.
But Popcorn
was a way-out for some Depression era businessmen. While some of the other businesses failed,
the popcorn business thrived. An example
is "an Oklahoma banker" who went broke when his bank failed, bought a
popcorn machine, and started a business in a small store near a theater. After a couple of years, his popcorn business
made enough money to buy back three of the farms he'd lost.
In the
time of World War II, Americans ate three times more popcorn than they had
before because of the sugar crop that was going overseas. Less sugar meant more popcorn snacking.
Some
years later, when street vendors started setting up outside movie theatres,
they were not welcome, at least as far as the theater owners were concerned.
They thought the vendors were a distraction.
But movie
goers didn't agree. They went out on the sidewalk in droves to buy bags of hot popcorn
before going back inside to see the movie.
Finally someone noticed.
Movie
theatre owners have always had a keen eye for profits. So a few of the smarter
ones asked the vendors to come inside and split whatever they made from their
popcorn sales with the theatre. Of course it wasn't long until the theater
owners realized they could set up their own popcorn popper and send the vendor
packing... making popcorn the number 1 snack at theaters world-wide.
And who
likes popcorn the best? At least six
localities (all in the United States ) claim to be the "Popcorn Capital of
the World": Valparaiso, Indiana ; Van Buren, Indiana ; Marion, Ohio ;
Ridgway, Illinois ; Schaller, Iowa ; and North Loup, Nebraska . What's more... as the result of an elementary
school project, popcorn became the official state snack food of Illinois.
So where
does popcorn come from? According to the
USDA , most of the maize used for popcorn production is specifically planted
for this purpose with the majority grown in Nebraska and Indiana, although the
crop is increasing area in Texas.
So next
time you reach for a handful of popcorn or kettle corn, impress your friends
with your knowledge of these fun facts on this special fun food!
