The History of Popcorn

We can't watch a movie in a theater without popcorn, and we use it as a metaphor for watching anything entertaining, like a scandal or a political train wreck. But I've always wondered about the very first person to witness corn popping. They expected to get cooked corn, and and get explosions instead! However, that was so very long ago that there are no records of the incident. This Ted talk gives us the history of popcorn from the early Americans to today's theater staple, and also explain how it works. Something that struck me was that European pioneers in America referred to it as "parched corn." I had come across that term in many books as a young reader and never knew they were talking about popcorn! How did I never learn that? I suppose those are the kinds of thing Ted talks are for.