Happy National Popcorn Day!

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January 19th is annually observed as National Popcorn Day. Where did the name popcorn derive? The word “corn” in Old English meant “grain” or more accurately, the most prominent grain grown in a region. As maize was the most common grain in early America, the word “corn”became a suitable name. Popcorn started becoming popular in the United States in the middle 1800s. When a popcorn machine was developed by Charles Cretors, a candy-store owner who used steam to pop the corn, it became the tasty treat we all enjoy today. By 1900 he had horse-drawn popcorn wagons going through the streets of Chicago. Others entrepenuers like Louise Ruckheim in 1893 added peanuts and molasses to popcorn to bring Cracker Jack to the world. Who hasn't sampled some cracker jack when attending a baseball game? If you have not, what a treat your missing out on. And then who does't like a bag of popcorn while watching a movie. Thanks to Glen W. Dickson, who figured out how to install those popcorn makers into a theatre, and make it economical to do so, we can enjoy our feature film with some buttered popcorn. Today, Americans consume 13 billion quarts of popcorn a year, more than any other country in the world. A majority of the popcorn produced in the world is grown in the United States. Nebraska leads the corn belt in popcorn production. In closing I ask, how do you enjoy your popcorn? Carmelized, buttered, plain, salted or non-salted? Perhaps you enjoy those big tins stores sell which provide a combination of flavors. Source- National Day Calendar.com and Google Photo- Amazon.com/google images