This is how the Cell Phone Popcorn Hoax is done.




  1. Miss_X2b says:

    What the video forgets to mention is: Be sure you and your friends sit as close as possible to that magnetron so you get a nice dose of radar radiation. Yuk!!

  2. smartalix says:

    OH MY GOD DO NOT PERFORM THIS HOAX!!!

    Whoever pulls this stunt is insane. Do they realize they are also zapping everybody that bends over that table in the face with hard radiation?

  3. Ah_Yea says:

    Wow! So let me get this right. Some people are willing to sit next to an exposed high energy microwave emitter and get doused with highly dangerous microwaves powerful enough to heat water to the boiling point, just for a gag.

    Well, in a way, they are doing a public service. Do that trick a couple of times and we don’t have to worry about them procreating!

  4. I don’t even like to stand close to an un-disected microwave. 🙂

  5. JPV says:

    Are you guys really trying to explain a hoax with another hoax?

    Yeah… you probably are.

  6. mike says:

    Hard radiation? Radar radiation? With the above level of scientific literacy it’s a wonder they can use computers at all.

    The magnetron is pointed straight up and the level of danger in the 30 seconds it takes to pop the corn is minimal.

  7. Cinaedh says:

    What do you call a hoax exposé of a hoax?

    I don’t know about your friends but my friends would be suspicious of the wire leading to the microwave and also of the magnetron bolted to the underside of the table.

  8. Ah_Yea says:

    While the possibility of the exposé of the hoax being a hoax does exist, I think this exposé is real and this is why.

    This exposé is the only explanation why the popcorn consistently pops straight up.

    If the emitter was under the table, then the direction of the microwaves would be straight up through the table to the underside of the popcorn kernel.

    That means that the bottom of the popcorn is exposed to the microwaves while the sides and top are not. So the water at the bottom of the kernel turns to steam before anywhere else, thereby popping the kernel right at the bottom, which shoots the kernel straight up.

    It’s the only explanation that fits, and therefore it’s probably not a hoax.

  9. iBlind says:

    My eyes! My eyes!

    I can’t see no more.

    Welcome to early cataracts.

  10. zebulon says:

    The explanation of a microwave source under the table is the first one you’d think of, and I suppose it’s the right one. However, you could think of other ways of creating this hoax ( microwaves are not the only way to heat something up).
    #7: I’d say that whatever direction the heat comes from, the popcorn will go (mostly) up, because of the reaction force of the table ( action-reaction).

  11. Gasparrini says:

    Well, here’s a slow motion video of a popcorn being popped in what appears to be oil. As you will be able to see, it doesn’t shoot straight up as high as it can be seen in the video above:

  12. shara jr says:

    i tried this with no problem.the trick work just fine.just stay away from the magnetron and you ll be fine .

  13. Gasparrini says:

    #12, Video, or it didn’t happen.

  14. usa35 says:

    Some exposure to microwave radiation isn’t going to kill you… Just make sure you don’t put your jaw with all those metal fillings too close.

    However, don’t y’all recall how the microwave was discovered/invented? I refer you to the mythical melting chocolate!!!

    http://tinyurl.com/ytjccf

    and:

    http://tinyurl.com/2mshpe

    [Please use TinyUrl.com for overly long URLs. – ed.]

  15. WmDE says:

    Not only is this medically ill advised, I’ll bet it cooks a few cellphones as well.

    I once read an article that suggested that home heating could be replaced. There was no point in heating the entire house. Microwaves could be used to heat the occupants.

    Microwave safe furniture?

  16. Trey says:

    First of all, this was done by an advertising company for a company who makes Bluetooth wireless handsets. So, it wasn’t like they were “fooling” their friends around the table. It was a viral video made solely to try to sell more hands-free handsets.

  17. Personality says:

    The popcorn shot UP because it was sitting on a hard surface. Like a bullet that flies out of its casing when it heated and sitting upright.

  18. chuck says:

    For best results, attach the magnetron directly to your testicles.

  19. I don’t think kernels pop in a certain direction. It probably depends on weakest point on individual kernels, orientation, etc.

    Wouldn’t a thin table and a cigarette lighter accomplish the same thing?

  20. Shin says:

    Wow. The fact that there are people here who find it easier to believe that cell phones can pop popcorn than that they were taken by a marketing ploy says much…

    Any bets they all have some other pet conspiracy theories they spend much time here touting? ^_^

  21. tjmcgee says:

    DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS.
    Microwaves are very directional, that’s what the fan is for, but they will boil any water that is in their path. Since you are made mostly out of water I would really recommend strongly that you stay away from this. Getting a very serious internal burn could happen quickly and cause you serious damage. Seriously, this is really ill advised, at the very least you could burn down your house.

  22. J says:

    # 6 mike

    You are aware that many Radar systems use a cavity magnetron right?

  23. Cinaedh.. geez the hoax was the distribution of the video…I am sure nobody was actually fooled at the taping. Haven’t you ever heard of shills? And cataracts are an issue. I think it’s crazy to be playing with one of these emitters.

  24. Ah_Yea says:

    Hey! I’ve got an idea!

    Why don’t we put really long extension cords on those magnetrons and give them to our kids to play with!

    Let them run around the house with REAL rayguns!

  25. gunny says:

    Wait a minute. Wouldn’t the microwave fry the cellphones? Note how the guy in this video keeps his cellphone at a safe distance till the last few seconds — which was not the case with the other videos. At the very least I would have expected sparks to fly from the phones,

  26. billybob says:

    #23

    Yeah and many highway patrol officers got testicular cancer early on because they would rest the radar gun in their crotch when not using it.

    Toasted nuts anyone?

  27. RTaylor says:

    I know of one man that died a horrible death when exposed to an attack radar in the nose of a F-4. The safely system failed and the radar was switched on while the victim was working in front of the aircraft. He was cooked inside before he felt the pain. It took less than a minute. Of course that was a much more powerful system, but one can see the potential here.

  28. Mike in Newark says:

    #27

    No. It is the H2O in substances which are vibrated by the microwaves and the friction from those vibrations is what creates the heat. No H2O, no real reaction. Any microwaves hitting the phone either bounce off of them (as microwaves do off of hard surfaces) or go right through it.

    There is very little chance the electronics in the cell phone will actually be affected (it would take a really bad design for them to interfere with the cell phone, especially for CDMA phones). It’s not like you are generating a hugh EMP pulse with the magnetron.

  29. Mike in Newark says:

    #29

    “Of course that was a much more powerful system, but one can see the potential here.”

    I believe that there is over a 1000 times more power in an attack radar system than a cell phone (or even a microwave oven). That is like saying that since there a real danger of being crushed by a 1000lbs of carrots (dropped from point blank height), that there is potential of being crushed by a 1lb bag of carrots as well (dropped from the same height).

    I know that this is a straw man argument, but many people do not seem to want to acknowledge that just because the excess of something is dangerous it does not follow that it is dangerous in a moderate (or even small) amount.

  30. Cinaedh says:

    # 24 – JCD

    I cheated. I was aware of the BlueTooth wireless commercial. Cripes! Sometimes cranky people just don’t get sublimely subtle humor. 🙂


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