who discovered popcorn

Popcorn was not “discovered” by a single person; its origins are ancient and tied to many Indigenous peoples in the Americas. The most commonly cited line is that popcorn comes from varieties of maize (zea mays everta) that can pop when heated, a practice documented in archaeological findings dating back thousands of years. Early evidence includes popped kernels and phytoliths found in sites across Peru, Mexico, Utah, and New Mexico, indicating that popcorn was present and used in various cultures long before European contact. In the modern era, Charles Cretors of Chicago is widely credited with popularizing popcorn in the form we recognize today by developing a mobile popcorn machine and later an oil-based popper in the late 19th century, which helped launch popcorn as a mass-market snack at fairs and expositions.