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The true "inventors" of popcorn were the native peoples of what is now Mexico and Peru.
- The Oldest Evidence: The oldest known popcorn was found in New Mexico, USA, and dates back about 5,600 years. However, even older evidence—6,700-year-old corncobs that were likely popped—was discovered in Peru.
- How They Did It: They discovered that a certain type of maize (corn) with a hard, moisture-sealed shell would explode when heated. The most common ancient methods were:
- Tossing an ear of corn directly onto a hot fire.
- Heating sand in a fire, stirring the kernels into the hot sand until they popped.
- Uses: Popcorn wasn't just a snack. It was also used in ceremonial headdresses, necklaces, and as offerings to the gods. Aztec writings from the 16th century describe popcorn as essential to their ceremonies.
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The invention of 3D glasses for cinema wasn't the work of a single person, but rather a series of innovations building on the fundamental principles of stereoscopy discovered in the 19th century.
The core concept—that presenting a slightly different image to each eye creates the illusion of depth—was pioneered by
Sir Charles Wheatstone in 1838. However, his invention, the stereoscope, didn't use glasses.
The first practical systems that led directly to modern 3D cinema glasses were developed by
William Friese-Greene in the 1890s. He filed a patent for a 3D movie process that used the
anaglyph method (the classic red and blue glasses).
