Popcorn History

Popcorn, like many other American staples, has some close associations in our minds.  Popcorn and the movie theater go hand in hand.  Popcorn and baseball have shared a bond since 1908 when popcorn made it’s “buy some peanuts and cracker jacks” appearance in the song Take Me Out To The Ball Game.  While the history of popcorn is surely American it is actually even pre-American.

Popcorn has been found in several archaeological sites.  Some archaeologists figure the popcorn at these sites to be as much as 4000 years old.  Others say these same caves are more likely from around 100-200 AD.  Either way, that is some old popcorn history.  These early popcorn eaters didn’t have the convenient machines that we do today.  They cooked their popcorn kernels by burying them in a sand filled bowl and heating it.  As the sand got hot enough the kernels would pop up to the top of the sand.  We recommend eating your popcorn within a few months of purchase, but some of the popcorn found at these sites still popped when heated.

Popcorn was a luxury during the depression era.  It turned out to be one of the luxuries that people were able to afford.  Single bags cost between 5-10 cents.  The young men who sold these bags were profiting 70 cents out of every dollar, making the popcorn vendor a great job at a tough time in history.

In more recent history, popcorn has risen and fallen with the television era.  The television era beginning in the 1950’s hurt theater attendance.  Consequently, the popcorn business suffered as well.  Then, home popping grew in popularity and popcorn’s relationship with television became nearly as strong as its ties to the movies.  After the introduction of the microwave oven and microwave popcorn, popcorn sales became stronger than ever.  In the 1990’s, microwave popcorn sales accounted for over $240 million dollars in revenue.