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Popcorn is the
oldest of three main types of corn: field corn, sweet corn,
and popcorn.
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Popcorn pops
because the heart of the kernel is moist and pulpy and is
surrounded by a hard shell. When heated, the moisture in the
heart expands until it “pops”.
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Popcorn was
discovered by the Indians. One of the first things Columbus
saw in San Salvador was Indians selling popcorn and wearing
it as jewelry.
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Archeologists
found some popcorn in a bat cave in New Mexico that was
5,000 years old.
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1,000 year old
popcorn kernels were found in Peru that would still pop.
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Indians used
to popcorn by holding an ear of corn on a stick over an open
fire (even then they knew that the best way to pop corn was
“open”.
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Indians also
popped corn by throwing a handful of kernels right into the
fire.
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French
explorers saw Indians in 1612 popping corn in clay pots
filled with sand. They would fill the pots with hot sand,
throw in some popcorn, and when it popped, it would come to
the top.
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The Iroquois
Indians liked popcorn soup.
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Indians coming
to the first Thanksgiving dinner brought popcorn in a
deerskin pouch.
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The Colonists
were so in love with popcorn that they ate it for breakfast
with cream and sugar. The original “Corn Pops”.
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