Fun Food Facts

Popcorn Facts

• Popcorn is a type of maize (or corn), a member of the grass family, and is scientifically known as Zea mays everta.
   
• How high popcorn kernels can pop? Up to 3 feet in the air.
   
• Compared to most snack foods, popcorn is low in calories. Air-popped popcorn has only 31 calories per cup. Oil-popped is only 55 per cup.
   
• Of the 6 types of maize/corn—pod, sweet, flour, dent, flint, and popcorn—only popcorn pops.
   
• Most popcorn comes in two basic shapes when it's popped: snowflake and mushroom. Snowflake is used in movie theaters and ballparks because it looks and pops bigger. Mushroom is used for candy confections because it doesn't crumble.
   
• Popcorn needs between 13.5-14% moisture to pop.
   
• Most U.S. popcorn is grown in the Midwest, primarily in Indiana, Nebraska, Ohio, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky and Missouri.
   
• The peak period for popcorn sales for home consumption is in the fall.
   
• Popping popcorn is one of the number one uses for microwave ovens. Most microwave ovens have a “popcorn” control button.
   
• The world's largest popcorn ball, as measured by the Guinness Book of World Records: 12 feet in diameter, containing 2,000 pounds of corn, 40,000 pounds of sugar, 280 gallons of corn syrup and 400 gallons of water.
   
• If you made a trail of popcorn from New York City to Los Angeles, you would need more than 352,028,160 popped kernels!

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