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.... More
©iStockphoto.com/hidesy Are you sick of rising movie ticket prices? Do you hate getting ripped off for a bag of popcorn at the movie theater? Well, it's only going to get worse. Due to the increasing costs of popcorn, the price of movie tickets is expected to skyrocket by as much as 30 percent this year. Why is the price of popcorn going up? Reasons include the increasing demand for ethanol, the low yields of this year's popcorn crop, the rising cost in coconut oil for popping corn, and the increasing cost of producing paper popcorn tubs. Since "roughly 25 percent of the price of admission is subsidized by popcorn, soda, and candy sales," either snacks will get more expensive... More
If you've always wanted to roast your own coffee at home but couldn't justify the $100 price tag, Cool Tools gives you a helpful step-by-step photo guide showing how you can do it using a hot-air popcorn popper [via Lifehacker]... More
©iStockphoto.com/hidesy Iris and I were walking home from school the other day and I suggested we watch a movie in the afternoon. "We should get some popcorn," Iris said. I agreed. We stopped at the drugstore, where I looked for the familiar bag of Jolly Time. No dice—it was all microwave bags. I managed to find one "natural" brand containing no artificial butter flavor, and it was good enough to get me through Duck Tales: The Movie. But the next day, I bought a bag of the old-fashioned stuff and popped it on the stove. Iris hung out by the edge of the kitchen, afraid of flying kernels and the clatter of the pot lid. When it was ready,... More
What does this year's new National Press Club chair want at her inaugural dinner tomorrow night in Washington? Popcorn. The reporter for Indiana's Journal Gazette is definitely going beyond Jiffy Pop too. That's where executive chef Jim Swensen comes in, concocting a "Popcorn and Politics" menu for Sylvia Smith and her attendees. Going on his seventeenth year as chef of Fourth Estate, the National Press Club's historic restaurant, Swenson has dealt with a slew of big enchiladas. Giada, Mario, Rachel, not to mention U.S. presidents, international correspondents and diplomats. But this might be first time he's doctored up popped corn kernels for a garnish on his tomato and corn salad or crispy polenta with creamed corn. Dessert will include a... More
Remember "popcorn lung," the condition striking microwave-popcorn factory workers who had inhaled too much diacetyl? Now, a Colorado popcorn consumer has come down with the disease. His case seems pretty extreme, however: "I said to him, 'This is a very weird question, but bear with me. But are you around a lot of popcorn?' " Dr. Rose asked. "His jaw dropped and he said, 'How could you possibly know that about me? I am Mr. Popcorn. I love popcorn.' "The man told Dr. Rose that he had eaten microwave popcorn at least twice a day for more than 10 years."When he broke open the bags, after the steam came out, he would often inhale the fragrance because he liked it... More
According to yesterday's New York Times, workers in California have been stricken by a horrible lung disease, bronchiolitis obliteran, after being exposed to a yellow-colored flavoring called diacetyl, best known for giving microwave popcorn its buttery taste. The effects of the disease are not pretty: "The airways to the lung have been eaten up," said Barbera Materna, the chief of the occupational health branch in the California Department of Health Services. "They can't work anymore, and they can't walk a short distance without severe shortness of breath." In a typical state regulatory agency-industry trade group pissing match that has ensued since this controversy began, the industry is talking about better ventilation, employee health testing, and new safety and educational programs."... More
Nosheteria says snacking, thy name is decadence: "When the bacon is sizzling hot, and crisp to your heart's content, remove the bacon from the pan, and add popcorn kernels to the grease. Cover the pot, you wouldn't want your popcorn to bounce everywhere. Appalling though it might seem, this is really no different than adding oil to pan of popcorn kernels. It's just in this case the oil tastes like bacon!" [via Slashfood]... More
Popcorn Popping in Slow Motion: "Check out this video of a popcorn kernel pop in slow motion being captured with a high speed camera. The explosion that makes it expand outwards is caused from a small amount of water inside the kernel that gets heated up until it expands." This is going to sound really silly until you watch the video, but: who knew popcorn was so beautiful? [via Neatorama]... More
