I want to grow popcorn. Should I plant the unpopped kernels, or pop them first?
This was a real important question I pondered as a 6-year-old.
popcorn is a dangerous crop. in a warm climate after it is ripe then it might pop right on the cob. worse problems occur when you then think it is snow and suffer hypothermia.
It’s very important to use an heirloom variety. Most popcorn you buy in the store these days isn’t true to seed - you might get candied popcorn, or kettle corn, or even a hybrid peanut/corn mixture.
-Popcorn is the new Kernel
You also have to watch how much you plant. Otherwise, you could end up with an exploded house, just like at the end of Real Genius.
Before you plant the whole field, you should just plant 2-3 kernals and wait for those to sprout so you know when the ground is ready for the whole batch.
I think the OP wants to grow a tasty snack, not a bunch of retro 8-bit operating systems. 
(Free popcorn for anyone who actually gets this reference…)
If you plant microwave popcorn, be sure that the correct side is down. Otherwise, you’re liable to … ummm…
It also could be useful to make a deal with a local dairy farmer…one who specializes in butter cows.
-Popcorn is the new Kernel
Thanks for all the useful advise. I think I may just plant a microwave and hope for the best!
In a similar vein, when I was about that age, I wanted an apple tree in mtpy backyard. I planted a single apple seed in a pot and diligently kept it watered.
Every day without a shoot was a disappointment until one day when I discovered a bright red apple pushing up out of the soil in the pot!
(I had an uncle with a twisted sense of humor)