In Videos: Cell Phones Pop Popcorn Kernels
No microwaves or ovens nearby? Videos coming out of France, Japan, and the USA show a feature most cell phone manufacturers are not likely to promote: when they ring, cell phones pop popcorn kernels. And we put these things next to our heads? Is this a hoax?
Update: The videos have been debunked!
Update #2: Good Morning America tried to pop popcorn with cellphones, and failed.
Videos after the jump.
Four Cell Phones Pop Popcorn, France
Four Cell Phones Pop Popcorn, Japan
Four Cell Phones Pop Popcorn, USA
Update: The videos have been debunked!
Update #2: Good Morning America tried to pop popcorn with cellphones, and failed.
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18 Comments:
If you believe that these videos are actually real, well then I've got a fancy new bridge I'd like to sell you...
MichaelN at 2:46PM on 06/08/08
The second one looks real -- at least you can see them pop more clearly.
But we don't know what's under the table(s).
One thing for sure, you can bet thousands of people will be trying it soon, to confirm whether it's real or not.
FastFoodCritic at 3:00PM on 06/08/08
Ugh. Its bad enough I have to deal with this on geek blogs but now food blogs.
There is this thing called math that can be used to debunk it. And someone has done it: http://forums.gametrailers.com/showthread.php?t=423337
bravian at 3:08PM on 06/08/08
the editing sucks. I can see where they stopped the filming. Anyone can hear the sounds are not cohesive.
JerzeeTomato at 3:22PM on 06/08/08
Look, the first two videos have mated to produce a third.
FastFoodCritic at 4:02PM on 06/08/08
You know, microwaves operate at 2.4ghz (approx the same as wifi) That's not really that close to the what cell phones operate at. And with a wattage of up to 1/10 of a watt (that is the max) compared to the 700-1200 watts of a microwave, it's pretty obvious that it is a fake.
bytehead at 5:16PM on 06/08/08
If everyone is so convinced that this is fake, how come no one has mentioned how its done? What's the trick?
mh330 at 6:49PM on 06/08/08
An offhand guess out of the air for the Japanese one could be that they're using a kotatsu, but while that heats up everything underneath the table I don't know what heating effect it may have, if any, upon the table itself.
First Chair at 12:45AM on 06/09/08
Well I HOPE everyone is HAPPY.
We decided to re-create this stunt when some relatives came over tonight. Figuring if 3 or 4 phones would pop a few kernels, we figured to increase the power.
With a grand total of 19 mobile popcorn poppers we figured there would enough freshly popped snacks to supply everyone during the upcoming movie we planned to watch later this evening, "I Am Legend" with Will Smith.
Unfortunately, as my sister was arranging the 19 powerful cell phone devices in a single focused circle of energy, her head exploded.
We're all extremely upset right now, and we blame these videos and Serious Eats.
We were really looking forward to that movie.
FastFoodCritic at 1:22AM on 06/09/08
I just have a hard time believing this is a hoax, even with commenters attempts on debunking it. If it is a hoax, then this is one of the most elaborate hoaxes ever. But to what point? Is it just a meme that people all over the world picked up on, and figured out their own way to fake it? Or is it some corporate viral scheme to promote some yet-unmentioned film or TV series?
Raphael at 1:31AM on 06/09/08
I don't know... maybe it's just people needing attention.
Why did "2 girls"... do what they did? (let's please not discuss that)
Why have 100's of people made their own versions of the drive thru rap? Even kids who aren't old enough to pronounce the words made them...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXmgGan9jhw&feature=related
Heh!
FastFoodCritic at 4:02AM on 06/09/08
One thing all 3 videos share in common -- you cannot see UNDER the table at all.
FastFoodCritic at 4:07AM on 06/09/08
Here's a new quote from a YouTube viewer of the third one.
----------------------------------------------------------
"this is possibly not fake. if any of you were smart enough to check the electromagnetic spectrum, u would know that microwaves use two different kinds of waves EHF(Extremely high frequency), which run at 300 GHz and have a length of 1mm, and SHF(super high frequency), which run at 30 GHz and have a length of 1cm
radio waves have a very close frequency in some cases, because they vary, anwhere from thousands of meters to one millimeter. i dont know what cells use but amplified by 4. its plausible"
-----------------------------------------------------------
Where is Mr Spock when you need him. That damn Vulcan.
FastFoodCritic at 4:25AM on 06/09/08
its a conspiracy by the popcorn manufacturers folks. they have you anyway you look at it. They Want you to try this, because if you use microwave popcorn you waste an entire bag to pop 4 measly kernals, and that is usually enough to make you think "hmmmpopcorn I want some" so you have to pop a new bag for consumption. And if you buy regular popcorn most of it comes in those flimsy slippery plastic bags so when you try to take out 4 kernals, half the bag dumps onto the floor. If you buy popcorn in the plastic jars, well they already own you ;)
huneybumper at 7:38AM on 06/09/08
One word: Snopes
There's an update at the end linking to the newer popcorn meme:
http://www.snopes.com/science/cookegg.asp
pckizer at 9:42AM on 06/09/08
i want to believe. i really do.
arobotar at 1:54PM on 06/09/08
you can't even pop corn in a microwave can you? i mean, don't you need a special bag? hence, hoax.
al oof at 6:55PM on 06/09/08
1/10 of a Watt?
I beg to differ try 1.6watts for the highest US phone.
Manufacturer and model SAR level(digital)
1 Motorola V195s 1.6
2 Motorola Slvr L6 1.58
3 Motorola Slvr L2 1.54
4 Motorola W385 1.54
5 RIM BlackBerry Curve 8330 (Sprint) 1.54
6 RIM BlackBerry Curve 8330 (Verizon Wireless) 1.54
7 Motorola Deluxe ic902 1.53
8 T-Mobile Shadow (HTC) 1.53
9 Motorola i335 1.53
10 Samsung Sync SGH-C417 1.51
research yourself
http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-6602_7-5020357-1.html?tag=lnav
Korb22 at 1:45AM on 06/12/08