Popular Iowa Pop Corn Company Is a Famous Worldwide Treat

Going down the Rodeo Really Tough Trivia Rabbit Hole at 7:10 am each weekday typically leads to some fun and exciting places.

Such as it is with National Microwave Oven Day, which celebrates the appliance to change how the kitchen is used.

The story goes that a self-taught American engineer named Percy Spencer accidentally invented a novel way to heat food with microwaves. 

In 1945, Spencer noticed the high-powered beams of radar he was working on providing an ideal heating effect for cooking. So, naturally, Spencer chose to test the method by cooking pop corn with his newly discovered microwaves.

Of course, the microwave oven can cook more than pop corn. Still, the exciting combo leads to the Tuesday, December 6 Rodeo Really Tough Trivia Question:

What is the Oldest Pop Corn Brand in America?

A. Orville Redenbacher

B. Jolly Time 

C. Pop Secret

D. ACT ll

Founded in 1914 in Sioux City, Iowa, The American Pop Corn Company is the oldest popcorn operation in the United States. Its only brand, Jolly Time, is sold globally in 23 countries and every state in America.

Cloid H. Smith started the American Pop Corn Company as a young entrepreneur. Cloid was most unsatisfied with the price he was getting for pop corn from his farm, so he decided to brand and sell the kernels on his own.

Cloid launched his pop corn business from the basement of his home in Schaller, Iowa. The company was successful, so Cloid soon built a crib, shelling, and cleaning building by 1915.

Over a century later, The American Pop Corn Company remains family owned and operated in Iowa for five generations.

Today, the Iowa-based company's Jolly Time brand is recognized worldwide. It boasts pop corn products for the microwave, old-fashioned stovetop kernels, and bulk products. 

Jolly Time is an industry-leading brand in movie theaters and kitchen pantries alike. In addition, the company was able to meet the evolving public demand by producing and maintaining popcorn as America's favorite snack from 1914 to today.

Learn More about the American Pop Corn Company and Jolly Time at jollytime.com