What’s the deal with the popcorn button?

What’s the deal with the popcorn button?

Try it. You know you want to.
Referenced Videos:

The Antique Microwave Oven that’s Better than Yours

And the follow-up to that one

The Clapper

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30 Responses

  1. Void Mayonnaise says:

    What I’m hearing is that the most expensive microwaves have a built-in Clapper.

  2. TrashLock says:

    Every microwave set to 4:20 is a really nice touch and must have been a lot of effort.

  3. Clott Adams says:

    The popcorn button on our 15 year old Frigidaire microwave works pretty dang good. Never more than a few unpopped kernels and it’s never burned. Air popped popcorn is still my favorite, though.

    • David Fleener says:

      I remember us having a hot air popper when I was a kid and it worked pretty well. But these days, I’m in love with my Whirley Pop stove-top popcorn popper. Either way, there isn’t a bag of microwave popcorn that can come close to the quality of “real” popcorn made in one of those two ways.

  4. Tobias Watson says:

    I’m in shock, I always assumed the food options on microwaves were just programed to a specific time. I’m gonna mess around with all the options on my microwave tonight, how exciting!

    • Heather Duke says:

      I know, I’m thinking of all the years wasted with a fancy microwave, lol

    • John Coops says:

      The various food options are preset profiles for power levels vs pulse time.
      Microwaves don’t really penetrate the -fool- *food* very far, so there is a tendency for foods to overheat on the outside. The power profiles allow some resting time between bursts of microwaving, which allows the heat to conduct (soak) into the center of the food.
      .
      “Vegetable” setting might apply 50% power in bursts of 15 seconds. “Reheat Coffee” might apply 100% power continuously. “Defrost Meat” might apply 75% power for 10 seconds, then 10% power for 20 seconds.
      .
      Also, higher-end microwaves have various sensors to detect the best time to change heating profiles and/or stop depending on the type of food selected.
      .
      Inverter microwaves can vary the power level dynamically, rather than just switching the magnetron on 100% and off 0% on a timer.

      Not all microwaves have sensors or inverter drive.

    • Klaus says:

      @John Coops “Microwaves don’t really penetrate the fool very far” I mean, if you throw it hard enough…

    • John Coops says:

      @Klaus – 🤣 yes, that’s absolutely true.
      For some obscure reason, your reply made me think of Photonic Induction… “oh, I popped that human”.
      I’ve fixed my hilarious typo 😉

    • why six says:

      I have a Panasonic with a lot of fancy buttons I’ve never used. But I also have over 20 years experience just setting a time and pushing start, then checking it, and either eating it, letting it cool off, or cooking it more.

  5. B34k says:

    Thanks to one of your previous microwave-centric videos, when I got my new microwave and realized it has a sensor, I used tested this for it’s reheat mode for leftovers. It work so well!

  6. TheDarxide23 says:

    My sister has a weirdo microwave that works as a convection oven, too. The inside walls of the thing look like one of those “quiet rooms” with all the little pyramid shapes. That microwave looks like it’s from 50 years in the future.

  7. Terry Towells says:

    I used to have a microwave with only one working button – the potato button. So I had to time everything in potatoes.

  8. Matthew Acton-Varian says:

    I remember when growing up my parents had the previous generation of the Sharp Carousel which was one of the first to have a digital display. That machine was so reliable it’s only been 4 or 5 years since it finally broke down and was replaced, lasting nearly 35 years in the process.

  9. Beardless Odin says:

    That’s some fine alliteration my friend. It’s my favourite literary device and you nailed it. Great video as always! Very informative like usual. May this channel grow and live long! Congratulations on 2 million subs! Well earned! Happy Holidays!

  10. Jack says:

    i unironically love these so much, you manage to take such a boring topic like a button on a microwave and make it funny and interesting

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