Popcorn Fun Facts

January 19th is the national popcorn Day.

• Fact

• Opinion

There are 4 and more different kinds of popcorn.

• Fact

• Opinion

Popcorn Kernels can pop up to 3 feet in the air.

• Fact

• Opinion

People have enjoyed popcorn for thousands of years. The oldest ears of popcorn ever found were 5,600 years old, and archaeologists have discovered ancient popcorn so well-preserved that it could still be popped! Popcorn probably originated in Mexico. When Christopher Columbus discovered the New World, he saw the native people eating popcorn. Ancient people also used popcorn as decorations much like we make strings of popcorn today. Pilgrims enjoyed popcorn during the first Thanksgiving when the brother of the chief of the Wampanoag tribe brought popcorn to the feast in a deerskin bag as a gift. The first English settlers in America poured milk and sugar over popcorn and ate it as cereal for breakfast. Some fun facts: kernels can pop up to three feet in the air; unpopped kernels are called old maids; each kernel contains water that turns to steam when heated, then bursts.

The main idea of this text is:

• Pilgrims enjoyed popcorn during the first Thanksgiving.

• People have enjoyed popcorn for thousands of years.

• Kernels can pop up to three feet high.

What is the main idea of the passage about popcorn?

• Popcorn is a modern snack.

• Popcorn has been enjoyed for thousands of years.

• Popcorn is difficult to make.

• Popcorn is only popular in America.

Which of the following is a synonym for 'preserved' as used in the context of the passage?

• Destroyed

• Protected

• Ignored

• Forgotten

What does the word 'archaeologists' mean in the context of the passage?

• Scientists who study ancient cultures

• People who make popcorn

• Historians who write about the past

• Chefs who cook traditional meals

In the passage, what does the term 'old maids' refer to?

• Unpopped kernels

• Ancient women

• Popcorn decorations

• Pilgrims' gifts

What literary device is used in the phrase 'kernels can pop up to three feet in the air'?

• Metaphor

• Simile

• Hyperbole

• Personification

Which sentence from the passage suggests that popcorn was used in celebrations?

• Popcorn probably originated in Mexico.

• Pilgrims enjoyed popcorn during the first Thanksgiving.

• The first English settlers in America poured milk and sugar over popcorn.

• Kernels can pop up to three feet in the air.