The Smell

Who doesn’t love microwave popcorn? The smell of it traveling through the house as someone pops a bag of it brings the family to the kitchen. Bowls are pulled out of the cupboard and some are checking to see if there are anymore bags that can be popped just in case there isn’t much left. Popcorn smells better than it taste.

The Taste

The taste of popcorn isn’t bad. I prefer kettle corn which has a little bit of a sweet flavor to it. Then of course there is caramel corn, cheese corn, and regular popcorn that can be made in your microwave oven. The ovens even come with preset times for you to set for your popcorn to turn out just right. Good luck with that though. The worst thing one can smell is burnt popcorn. That is disgusting.

Popcorn Lung

Never heard of popcorn lung before reading the article on it. This guy loved the smell of popcorn so much that he over did it. Should there be a warning on the bag about inhaling? Wayne Watson inhaled his microwave popcorn so much that he damaged his lungs. He has been awarded $7.2 million dollars compensation for his illness and distress. Who would have thought that wonderfully delicious smell was harmful to ones health? Popcorn lung is not reversible. It’s an obstructive disease of the lung. It’s a serious disease.

Not the Only One Suffering

Popcorn lung has also been found in people who work at popcorn plants. It is contributed to an ingredient in the popcorn, diacetyl. Diacetyl causes lung problems. The manufactures never did any testing to see if there were any hazards to people from the smell. I know I love inhaling the delicious smell from the bag when we make it. Luckily we rarely eat popcorn. I will spread the word, not to inhale. I would like to note, not all microwave popcorn has the ingredient diacetyl in it.