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Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff from how stuff works dot com

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Speaker 1: where smart happens Hi Marshall Brain. Today's topic popcorn, the

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Speaker 1: question what the heck is going on when you turn

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Speaker 1: a hard corn kernel into a white, fluffy snack. It

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Speaker 1: turns out that lots of grains will puff like that

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Speaker 1: if you help them. People eat puffed rice, puffed wheat,

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Speaker 1: and puff corn for breakfast all the time. If you

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Speaker 1: soften a kernel with steam, pressurize it, and then rapidly

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Speaker 1: release the pressure, most grains will puff. Popcorn is cool

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Speaker 1: because it does it all by itself. The outer shell

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Speaker 1: of the kernel is important. It has to be sealed.

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Speaker 1: If you puncture a kernel with a pin, it won't pop.

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Speaker 1: Moisture is also important. If a popcorn kernel is too dry,

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Speaker 1: it won't pop either. When you heat a popcorn kernel,

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Speaker 1: the moisture inside creates so much pressure that the outer

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Speaker 1: shell burst like a balloon. The starch inside pots during

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Speaker 1: the explosion, and you have an instant snack. Be sure

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