I love popcorn! I mean I really love popcorn!! A week doesn't go by without it making an appearance at least once or twice in my household. My whole family is the same way, and during family get togethers it is often made every single night. That said, I thought it would be fun to present a brief history and some interesting facts about one of my favorite foods: -corn is known to be at least 80,000 years old as pollen of this age has been found and is almost indistinguishable from modern corn. Of the many varieties of edible corn, popcorn is thought to be the oldest -the oldest ears of popcorn are over 5600 years old and were discovered in a New Mexican cave, while researchers found popcorn kernals so well perserved, in Peru that these 1000 year old kernals still popped -many Native Americans believed that spirits lived in popcorn. These spirits were content to dwell within the corn until heated, when the disgruntled spirit would take his leave causing the corn to explode -Both Colombus and Cortez observed natives using popcorn (both cobs and popped) as personal adornments, and in use during important religious ceremonies. -Popcorn was brought by the Indians to be served at the first Thanksgiving held by the Pilgrims -At that time over 700 varieties, of popcorn, were known to exsist -Early colonists sometimes served popcorn for breakfast with cream and sugar (the first puffed cearal) -Native Americans used to pop corn right on the cob by sticking a stick into the end of the cob and holding it over a fire -some natives also brewed a beer-like drink from popcorn -and finally, some tribes in Southwestern US created clay vessels 8 feet wide to popcorn for tribal and community events.