Safety Warning!

Who doesn't like kettle corn? That is a rhetorical question, don't bother answering (note the lack of survey to the right). I, who like kettle corn very much, was recently the recipient of some personal sized microwave Jolly Time Oh Yum! Kettle Corn--"It pops faster!" is what the bag says... or rather, what the bag would say if it wasn't slightly charred right where the words are...

While it does seem to pop faster, it also seems to burn and catch fire faster! There is about a five second interval in between the aromatic sound of pop-pop-pop that lets you know it is still cooking and the silent smell of smoke... Pulling the bag out of the microwave--by the "stay cool" handles on opposing corners of the squarish bag--and giving a slight tug opens the bag to reveal a blackened and smoldering hunk of congealed popcorn in the center of the bag and all the other still good popcorn. The natural--and completely wrong, it turns out--response is to blow into the bag to clear some of the smoke for a better view and to put the fire out. The breath of fresh air seems to be just what the fire needs (fuel, oxygen, and heat if I recall) to really heat up... It is smoking enough to rush outside with it--because who wants a smoky CHU room? (Another rhetorical question.) There may have even been a few flames, but I will deny it. Outside, cooler heads prevailed, and the popcorn cooled off without too much more damage--most of it was still tasty!! After all, it was my last bag and I couldn't watch a movie without kettle corn!

BTW, there were four bags in the original box and I only caught two of them on fire! With no collateral damage I might add...