Walking in the farmers market, a kid carrying a big bag of popcorns ran past us to chase his mom. He put the bag down on the ground, which was as tall as his waist, and shouted happily: "Mom, see how big this bag is!"
Wow! I eat popcorns occasionally, but definitely haven't enjoyed this kind of bag-size.
When I was little (and of course living in China), my friends and I liked watching making popcorns on the side of the street. The popcorn machine was operated over fire by a popcorn maker, usually an old man. He kept rotating a handle, which rotated the machine, so that the corns inside got heated thoroughly and evenly. As it was getting ready, he would shout something loud and then "BOOM!!", popcorns were popped into a big bag, then packaged into smaller ones. That's what we bought as snacks.
As I grow up, popcorn machines gradually disappear -- they probably only exist in rural areas now. Nowadays, I feel like popcorns are consumed mostly in movie theatres in China. There should be microwaveable ones in supermarket, but I seldom get them.
One thing that I love Chinese popcorns better than the ones here in the US is the sweetness. Chinese popcorns have a light enjoyable sweetness, to the degree that you can eat a bunch while not overwhelmed. I still remember the first time I got a big basket of popcorns from a movie theatre here in the US. Expecting the same sweetness, I threw a big grab of popcorns into my mouth, and found them salty! Next, I passed the basket to my friend...
Later, someone told me if I wanted the sweet ones, I should ask for kettle corns, because popcorns here were by default salty. So I got kettle corns the next time. Well, the degree of sweetness was over my limit (I'm not quite a sweet tooth). So... I found myself eat fewer popcorns now. A bit sad, but it seems a good thing :)
