Why Do We Eat Popcorn at the Movies?

Popcorn and movie theaters seem to go together naturally. Popcorn is easy to make, easy to eat with your hands, can be made without a huge kitchen, and the smell makes people want to buy it. Back in the mid-1800s, the popping itself was considered entertainment.

But it wasn't theater owners who made popcorn a part of the movie-watching experience. Early movie theaters did not want to sell snacks, and they would not allow food in their fancy cultural establishments. However, street vendors sold popcorn to the crowds waiting to get into the theaters. Patrons had to sneak their popcorn into the movies!

Read the story of how theaters owners gradually came to see the value of popcorn, even if they had to clean it off those fancy carpets, and how the snack fuels the theater industry today, at Smithsonian's Food & Think blog. -via Digg

(Image credit: Flickr user Joakim Wahlander)