Popcorn in slow motion

Much like setting stuff on fire, filming things in slow motion is one of those science video tropes that has less to do with science, and more to do with making vaguely science-related things look really cool. And yet, you know, it does look really cool. Take this video, for instance. "How popcorn works" is not exactly news to most people over the age of 5. But damned if I'm not completely engrossed by the sight of hot kernels turning themselves inside out, anyway.

Thanks to Ms. Paige Worthy!

Naturally, all this popcorn talk makes me think of exactly one thing—Farmer Boy. Seriously, if you only ever read Little House in the Big Woods and Little House on the Prairie, do yourself a favor and seek out this third installment, which is basically a 384-page paean to all the food Laura Ingalls never got to eat as a child, occasionally broken up with a bit of narrative about her eventual husband's formative years as the son of wealthy horse farmer. The Little House books are pretty food-porn heavy to begin with, but it's laid on thickest in Farmer Boy. I love that book. Even if popcorn and milk aren't as awesome together as Almanzo Wilder thinks.

Maggie Koerth-Baker is the science editor at BoingBoing.net. She writes a monthly column for The New York Times Magazine and is the author of Before the Lights Go Out, a book about electricity, infrastructure, and the future of energy. You can find Maggie on Twitter and Facebook.

Maggie goes places and talks to people. Find out where she'll be speaking next.

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Anonymous

Maggie, your plug to Little House on the Prairie was cute.
AdrenalineSleep

I may have shared this before but since it’s sort of on topic so thought I’d share a video I put together from an iron pour earlier this year. This has nothing to do with science but is slomo fun with fire and molten iron:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2-fZRDqEd8
Hot stuff go BOOM!!
lisechen

You know, I drink milk with some pretty weird things (pizza, hot dogs), but I have never had milk and popcorn.
Paul Coleman

General Electric’s folks here in Schenectady, had a super hi res series of these without the breathless narration.

Here’s Popcorn: http://ge.geglobalresearch.com/blog/your-requests-answered-popcorn-popping-in-super-slow-motion/

If you go to their YouTube feed and search on “Slow Motion”, they have some great other ones. http://www.youtube.com/user/grcblog

I particularly like light bulb burning out.
Anonymous

I LOVED Farmer Boy! I reread it every few years. I still eat half of my popcorn dipped in milk. Mmmm…. I know what snack I’m having tonight.
Anonymous

The voice-over here is done by Britain’s Top Light Entertainer Vic Reeves, have a look at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMaEUv5n9wU for another food recommendation of his…
voiceinthedistance

I wouldn’t want to hear that guy narrate a real porn clip. It was challenging enough hearing the blow by blow with food porn.
Gary

“…as the heat and moisture within breaks the hard shell and the starchy endosperm unfurls in an edible spongy foam on the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field.”
Anonymous

I love the narrator lol!
Anonymous

The narrator is a comedian from here in the UK, guy named Vik Reeves. His humour is varied, weird and often inappropriate. As can be seen here.
Lady Katey

Yay for props to Farmer Boy. I was actually thinking about another Little House popcorn story when I was Christmas shopping the other day- about Mrs Boast’s secret stash of popcorn that they surprised the men with on Christmas.

There is an excellent Little House Cookbook by Barbara M. Walker that goes through pretty much every food mentioned in the books, from Long Winter Bread to pulled candy to “Vanity Cakes” and even green pumpkin pie. An excellent gift for a Little House fan in your life.
Kimmo

Filming stuff in slomo has everything to do with science.

The fact that it’s fun detracts not a whit from (rather, confirms) its point – discovery.
yclept

Haw. I logged in to put on my 2 cents that the video didn’t work for me either using Firefox on a mac. Then I logged in and behold, the video worked.
Patrick Dodds

Firefox on a Mac and your videos don’t work – not a major problem mostly, but where I can’t click through to further my popcorn education it becomes something of an issue.
Maggie Koerth-Baker

Patrick, that’s very weird, as I am also running Firefox on a Mac.

Not sure what the problem is. I’ll ask Rob if it’s anything on our end.
- teapot
  
  FF on Win XP and I have the same problem. Logged in.
  
  Out of interest, isn’t the iframe embed method generally considered to have better functionality cross-platform? Or am I totally wrong on this?
kmoser

The narrator sounds just a little too into it when he says, “…as the heat and moisture within breaks the hard shell and the starchy endosperm unfurls in an edible spongy foam.”
- http://maggiekb.com/ Maggie Koerth-Baker
  
  It made me think of food-porn for a reason, kmoser.
EH

So that’s how popcorn works?
Jules

I never could make it past “The Long Winter” but it is so nice to hear “Farmer Boy” get its forgotten accolades. It is also details all the baths Laura Ingalls never got to take as a child.