Early movie theaters in the 1920s aimed to attract wealthy patrons with grand lobbies and did not sell popcorn, considered a pauper’s snack. The introduction of “talkies” and the Great Depression led to popcorn being sold inside theaters, where it has remained since. Popcorn is believed to be America’s oldest snack, with evidence dating back to 3600 BC. Charles Cretors introduced the first mobile popcorn machine at the 1893 World’s Columbian Expo in Chicago.
The plush movie palaces of the early 1920s didn’t want to be associated with the low-level nickelodeons of the time. In an effort to emulate traditional theaters and opera houses, early 20th-century cinemas attracted wealthy and sophisticated patrons with grand lobbies furnished with lush carpets and crystal chandeliers. This was not a place for popcorn, then considered a pauper’s snack that was usually sold by street vendors. However, with the advent of “talkies” in the late 1920s, cinemas began to reach wider audiences, as this presented an opportunity for higher profits. And soon after, the Great Depression forced movie theater owners to find new ways to attract customers, so popcorn began to be sold inside movie theaters, where it has remained ever since.
Putting Pop In Corn:
Popcorn may be America’s oldest snack food. Evidence of it has reportedly been found in a cave in western New Mexico dating back to 3600 BC.
The snack is believed to have arrived in North America from Chile as early as the 1820s, then known as Valparaiso corn.
At the 1893 World’s Columbian Expo in Chicago, inventor Charles Cretors introduced the first mobile popcorn machine. A simple steam engine popped corn in a mixture of butter and lard.
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