October might be known for fall colours, spookiness and pumpkin spice lattes, but this month also celebrates something even cornier.
The 10th month of the year marks national popcorn month, a seasonal celebration of the beloved snack food.
As the weather turns dark and rainy and we gear up for Halloween, it’s time to sit down and turn on the scary movies with a big bowl of popcorn.
According to HTD Canada Popcorn Company, the delicious snack was integral to Aztecs, who also used popcorn as decoration for ceremonial headdresses, necklaces and ornaments on statues of their gods, including Tlaloc, the god of rain and fertility.
The buttery treat was popular from the 1890s until the Great Depression, as it was sold on the street often by vendors pushing steam or gas-powered poppers through fairs and parks.
Unfortunately, popcorn hit a slump in the early 1950s when television became popular. According to the popcorn company, as the attendance at movie theatres declined so did popcorn consumption. When the public began eating popcorn at home, the snack once again gained popularity.
Fun facts
• Air-popped popcorn has only 31 calories per cup. Oil-popped is only 55 per cup.
• Of the six types of maize or corn—pod, sweet, flour, dent, flint, and popcorn—only popcorn pops and needs between 13.5-14 per cent moisture to do so.
• According to the popcorn company, kernels can pop up to three feet in the air and the largest popcorn ball was 12 feet in diameter and weighed 5,000 pounds.
• And oddly, unpopped popcorn kernels are called “spinsters” or “old maids”.
So, in the spirit of celebrating October, it’s acceptable to eat popcorn all month long.
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