The History of Popcorn: How One Grain Became a Staple Snack

Though their big screens are dark, the smell of popcorn, hot and freshly popped, still wafts out of some movie theaters. Closed because of COVID-19, theaters large and small are trying to stay afloat on the sale of popcorn and other snacks. “We had our doors closed and no income coming in,” Dave Loomos, co-owner of the 92-year-old Pickwick Theater in Park Ridge, Illinois, told a local radio station earlier this month. “We decided to do curbside popcorn pick-up to see how it would go, and we've been doing that for the past couple of weeks and it seems like it's well-received…”

When popcorn was first sold inside movie theaters, almost 100 years ago, it actually helped buoy the business, which was flailing at the time as the country entered the Great Depression. Always an affordable treat, today, popcorn is tinged with nostalgia. With movie nights happening at home now, this April, popcorn flew off grocery store shelves, resulting in sales that were more than 30 percent higher than the previous year's. But this isn’t the first time Americans fell in love with popcorn—and it won’t be the last.

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