Compared with other snacks at the time, it was supereasy to make, and it got easier in 1885 when the mobile steam-powered popcorn maker was invented. It was originally grown in Central America and became popular in the U.S. It’s also the name for the specific type of corn that is used to make the snack. Popcorn also became popular at a time when movie theaters were in desperate need of an economic boost, which is how popcorn got introduced to the silver screen.įun fact: popcorn does not refer to the popped kernel alone. Popcorn was cheap for sellers and for customers, and making it didn’t require a ton of equipment. Mostly, it boiled down to the snack’s price, convenience, and timing. Smith, author of Popped Culture: A Social History of Popcorn in America. Why is it that we feast our taste buds on these crisp kernels while our eyes feast on the big screen?Ī few converging aspects made popcorn the quintessential movie snack, according to Andrew F. Americans will recognize the smell and flavor of their favorite moviegoing snack anywhere. SpaceNext50 Britannica presents SpaceNext50, From the race to the Moon to space stewardship, we explore a wide range of subjects that feed our curiosity about space!.Learn about the major environmental problems facing our planet and what can be done about them! Saving Earth Britannica Presents Earth’s To-Do List for the 21st Century.Britannica Beyond We’ve created a new place where questions are at the center of learning.100 Women Britannica celebrates the centennial of the Nineteenth Amendment, highlighting suffragists and history-making politicians.COVID-19 Portal While this global health crisis continues to evolve, it can be useful to look to past pandemics to better understand how to respond today.Student Portal Britannica is the ultimate student resource for key school subjects like history, government, literature, and more.Demystified Videos In Demystified, Britannica has all the answers to your burning questions.This Time in History In these videos, find out what happened this month (or any month!) in history.

#WTFact Videos In #WTFact Britannica shares some of the most bizarre facts we can find.Britannica Classics Check out these retro videos from Encyclopedia Britannica’s archives.Britannica Explains In these videos, Britannica explains a variety of topics and answers frequently asked questions.

Watching popcorn pop