Evidence for Oldest Popcorn in South America Discovered

Live Science ^ | 01/20/12 | Remy Melina

[William Tell]

Hot Tabasco said: "Adding salt was just a natural reaction to enhance the bland taste but the addition of butter had to be divine intervention...."

Which brings up the philosophical question, "Which came first? The salt or the butter?"

I think the answer is obvious... the butter comes first. Otherwise the salt won't stick to the popcorn.

[Hot Tabasco]

I think the answer is obvious... the butter comes first.

Now who the heck can argue with that.......Debate over before it even started....slam dunk!

[Billthedrill]

That’s pretty impressive, actually, because it means they must have invented the microwave oven, too.

[SunkenCiv]

:’) We’ve had a lot of need for it these past two days. :’)

[SunkenCiv]

I was just trying to contrast the nonintuitive steps to bread that had to be discovered somehow.

Popcorn would be easy to discover — a crappy ear of corn gets tossed in the fire, or some underdisciplined kids are throwing ears at each other, or (and I love this one), the roasting of other varieties of corn had been around a while before that, and the first to try roasting an ear of popcorn suspected nothing until...

:’)

[bigheadfred]

Oh yeah. I jumped into one the other day. It is simply amazing how many people were so kind to remind me how narrow-minded and inconsequential I am.

[Revolting cat!]

My uncle in Peru (he's from Germany and moved after WWII) has a popcorn farm there.

[thecodont]

Maybe a wildfire swept through their corn patch, after the corn was somewhat dry, and made popcorn, then the ancient farmer tried to duplicate the process under controlled conditions?

That sounds plausible. Popcorn (Zea mays praecox, a type of flint corn) will pop, even when still attached to the cob.

[SunkenCiv]

:’) Consequential has more to do with how many people think the same way.

Alas, the trolls, they are not thinkers.

[colorado tanker]