Native Americans used popcorn for jewelry and religious ceremonies long before it became a movie snack.

Popcorn is a specific variety of maize known as Zea mays everta, which has been cultivated in the Americas for thousands of years. Archaeological evidence from the Bat Cave in New Mexico, discovered in 1948 by Herbert Dick and Earle Smith, revealed popcorn remnants dating back nearly 4,000 years. These early samples suggest that popcorn was one of the first forms of corn consumed by humans.When Spanish explorer Hernán Cortés entered Mexico in 1519, he documented the Aztecs using popcorn in rituals. The Aztecs specifically used it to adorn the statues of Tlaloc, the god of rain and fertility, and Chicomecóatl, the goddess of maize. The fluffy white appearance of the popped kernels was seen as a terrestrial representation of rain clouds and hailstones.Bernardino de Sahagún, a Franciscan missionary, provided detailed accounts in his 16th-century work 'General History of the Things of New Spain.' He described ceremonial headdresses and necklaces called 'momochitl' made from parched corn that burst to look like white flowers. This cultural significance remained dominant until the 1840s when popcorn began its transition into a popular American street food.The science of the 'pop' occurs because popcorn kernels have an unusually thick hull and a high concentration of moist starch. When heated to approximately 355 degrees Fahrenheit, the internal pressure builds until the hull ruptures. This causes the starch to expand rapidly into a white foam that quickly solidifies into the shapes used by ancient civilizations for both art and sustenance.