Thanks go out to the Wise Corporation for this insightful (albeit incomplete) evolution of the hands-down all-time favorite movie-watching snack: Popcorn.

Whether it is buttered or “naked,” popcorn and movies have long been paired together.

But a glaring omission is to be found in the above chart that remains in my memory banks. If you were a child of the 50s, no discussion of popcorn would be complete without a passing reference to Jiffy-Pop. As the ads said, it was as much fun to make as it was to eat.

For the uninitiated, Jiffy-Pop was a popcorn making invention that resembled a small skillet covered with aluminum foil. Instructions were easy. Light burner on stove. Put Jiffy-Pop container on burner. Shake.  That last part was the most important if you didn’t want charred kernels.

As you shook, the aluminum cover would begin expanding to make room for the ever increasing size of all the popcorn kernels. Once all kernels had been popped, your Jiffy Pop container would look like a small, silver mushroom cloud filled with hot, fluffy morsels of goodness.

I can remember jiffy-popping my way through many a Sunday night and Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color. And then microwaves came on the scene and Jiffy-Pop became little more than a footnote in popcorn history.

Michael Ondrasik and Home Video Studio specialize in the preservation of family memories through the digitalization of film, videotapes, audio recordings, photos, negatives and slides. For more information, call 352-735-8550 or visit our website.