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Purpose: Since the advent of microwave popcorn we complied. We comply before home movies, before parties, and even now as we "flatten the curve" - we comply - but why? In this experiment ScientificAmeriKen examines those three little words on the back side of a microwave popcorn bag - "THIS SIDE UP". Very simple instructions, yet for many, it remains unknown what happens if we put "THIS SIDE DOWN"? Here, Scientific AmeriKen examines how well the pops keep popping in three different sizes of microwave popcorn. Hypothesis: Scientific AmeriKen admits the instructions seem important enough all written in bold text, but a bag is just a bag and thus it should be questioned why it matters which side is put up? Thus, it is the hypothesis of this experiment that the side the popcorn is popped on will not matter to final popped kernel counts. Materials and Methods: Multiple brands and sizes were tested in this experiment including 1.5 OZ bag sizes (single serving) from Orville Redenbacher and SkinnyGirl popcorn (also from Orville), 2.8 OZ sizes from Smartpop (buttered), and 3.2 OZ large sizes from PopSecret (buttered). For each, bags were placed in the microwave with the appropriate "popcorn setting", with respective options of 1.5 OZ, 3.0 OZ, and 3.5 OZ. Bags were placed in the microwave either "This Side Up" or "This Side Down". Following the completion of the microwave cycle - popped and unpopped kernels were individually counted (Figure right) and later consumed to ensure appropriate taste. Additionally, a paper towel was used to check for butter spillage. Results: In total roughly 21.2 ounces of popcorn were consumed over a 10-day period. As indicated below in the table, there appears to be a decline in pop ratio that becomes more pronounced with the size of the bag. Initially, in the single serving bags (1.5 OZ), the difference between the two was minimal and it was not clear as to whether there was an effect of popping "This side down" or whether it was just random chance (all popped at >90%). However, as we move on to the larger sizes it was clear that "This side up" was more efficient - popping at near 90% versus 67% at 2.8 OZ -- and 77% versus 52% at 3.2 OZ. It was noted that microwave settings were used to set times, when we instead popped until pop sounds are no less frequent than 1 per second, the "This side down" percentage increased to 91%, but some kernels tasted burnt.
Conclusion: It has become clear that we all need to put "This Side Up" and not waste any more kernals to crazy pseudoscience ideas! Sure a few one timers may be able to get away with a "This Side Down" single serving popping - but by an large, in this era of making every kernal count - the risk is just not worth it. Also, the attempt to pop "This Side Down" while following the instructions to maximize total poppage just resulted in burnt popcorn. This suggests that the kernels aren't being heated fast enough and by the time the last ones pop, the first ones have burnt. Further investigation has revealed that this is due to something called a "susceptor" - as this article nicely points out a possible rationale for "This Side Up". One good thing of note was that under-popped popcorn did not leave a buttery mess in the microwave - it was noted that tipping the top of a such a bag upside down does result in a buttery mess on the floor. Although it is noted the attempt to pop "This side down" was an utter failure - sometimes - it doesn't hurt to try! |
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Additionally, Scientific AmeriKen also investigated whether the packaging left butter was also tested (image right - arrow denotes butter stain). To our surprise, there was very limited butter stains on any poppery.