# Can cellphones make popcorn pop?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-cellphones-make-popcorn-pop/454146>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [June 25, 2008, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-cellphones-make-popcorn-pop/454146 "2008-06-25T01:47:05Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![DaveRaver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daveraver/32/1078_2.png) [@DaveRaver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaveRaver)\
**Post date:** [June 25, 2008, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-cellphones-make-popcorn-pop/454146/1 "2008-06-25T01:47:05Z")

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Watch this video in which popcorn is popped by surrounding it with cellphones that are turned on at the same time:

Is this real or a hoax?

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**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\
**Post date:** [June 25, 2008, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-cellphones-make-popcorn-pop/454146/2 "2008-06-25T01:55:46Z")

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Not a chance. Cell phones don’t emit more than a watt (it’s actually much less, but I’ll be generous), and since the radiation from the phones goes in all directions and there’s no enclosure to contain it, only a tiny fraction of that is being absorbed by the kernels. It’s completely fake.

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**Author:** ![Mindfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindfield/32/19759_2.png) [@Mindfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mindfield)\
**Post date:** [June 25, 2008, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-cellphones-make-popcorn-pop/454146/3 "2008-06-25T01:59:55Z")

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Snopes has debunked the “[cooking an egg between two cell phones](http://www.snopes.com/science/cookegg.asp)” urban legend, which amounts to the same thing, and recently extended it to include the popcorn legend as well. Bottom line: Not only false, but a viral marketing scheme cooked up (uh, pardon the pun) by [Cardo Systems](http://www.cardosystems.com/pop/).

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**Author:** ![t-mobileguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@t-mobileguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/t-mobileguy)\
**Post date:** [June 25, 2008, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-cellphones-make-popcorn-pop/454146/4 "2008-06-25T05:05:16Z")

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No way Jose, er Dave,

I found this I hope it helps.  
[http://www.thatvideosite.com/video/8855](http://www.thatvideosite.com/video/8855)

Video to demonstrate how you could make it appear popcorn is popping on an open table.  
Edit: to say the video is safe for work but that site has some NSFW stuff.