National Popcorn Day!

Show Notes for Ep19 -National Popcorn Day!

Today’s featured holiday is,.. National Popcorn Day.

Before reaching into the popcorn box to enjoy a tasty treat of
popcorn, let’s have a look at the history of corn.

According to a 2012 article in “National Geographic”, people in
what is now Peru were producing various corn based foods to include
what we now call popcorn 6,700 years ago.

“Corn” in Old English refereed to the dominant grain grown in a
specific region. The dominant grain grown in what is now known as
the Americas was maize. Thus, early settlers referred to maize as
“corn”.

What we now call popcorn was used to adorn Aztec headdresses worn
during ceremonies honoring their god of maize and fertility.

Fast forward to the middle 1800s. Popcorn became popular in the
U.S., especially after candy store owner Charles Cretors crafted a
steam driven machine to more easily pop corn. By the turn of the
century, Cretors had horse-drawn wagons plying Chicago streets
selling popcorn.

Cretors wasn’t the only purveyor of popcorn in Chicago. In 1872,
German immigrant Frederick Rueckheim started selling popcorn from a
street cart along Chicago’s Fourth Avenue. He was so successful
that he arranged to have his brother Louis come from Germany to
help out.

The two brothers developed a product that combined popcorn,
peanuts, and molasses together in what would be later called
Cracker Jacks. Their product was well received during the 1983
Word’s Fair. With that success, they opened the F.W. Rueckheim
& Brother company. In 1896, they registered the name Cracker
Jack. The company has enjoyed a century of success that continues
through today as part of the Frito-Lay family of products.

In 1938, Glen W. Dickson, a theater owner in the Mid-west,
installed popcorn machines in his theaters. They were highly
profitable and other theater owners quickly followed Dickson’s
lead.

In 1984, microwave popcorn hit the market as microwave ovens spread
into the consumer market.

Popcorn continues to be a popular food item. The U.S. leads the
world consuming 13 billion quarts of popcorn a year.

While there’s no reliable information telling us the source of
National Popcorn Day, that doesn’t stop us from firing up the
microwave and cooking up a big bag of popcorn to celebrate the
holiday.

To post photos of your popcorn adventure or to share your thoughts
about this yummy treat on social media, use
#NationalPopcornDay.

Join us tomorrow as we celebrate, “National Disc Jockey Day”

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This is your host, Stephen Carter, reminding you, this day is
special, and so are you. Have fun, smile, and enjoy a heaping
helping of popcorn in honor of National Popcorn Day.