WebProNews

From the "They Really Have People Who Study This?" file, comes today's top scientific breakthrough: scientists have discovered why some popcorn kernels don't pop.

If you have choppers strong enough to smash through one of these "old maids," as unpopped kernels are referred to, then the result was a minor, tasteless annoyance.

But if one of these stealthy tooth-chippers sent you howling to the dentist, writhing in I-knew-I-paid-too-much-that-popcorn pain, then you'll be glad to know that the problem is soon to be eradicated.

Researchers at Purdue University's Whistler Center for Carbohydrate Research discovered that the answer lay beneath the surface, er, the pericap.

Some kernels don't have a thick enough shell to hold in moisture long enough for it to pop. The result is a hull that leaks like a Japanese businessman on a Friday night, causing it to pass-out at the bottom of the bag.

The five-member team, led by Bruce Hamaker, said that they are probably through with popcorn research, but hopes the finding will cause fully-popped microwave popcorn to be a reality within the next 3-5 years.

Tuition dollars well spent.

The findings were published online at the American Chemical Society's BioMacromolecules Journal.

Jason L. Miller is a staff writer for WebProNews covering technology and business.