Preparing popcorn

Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports
1

The mailbag answer at
http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mpopcorn.html
(“Does freezing unpopped popcorn make it pop fuller and fresher?”)

basically says that dried out kernels won’t pop as well.

Can I infer from this that soaking kernels in water will
improve their poppability?

2

You can certainly infer that in you wish. And we’ll eagerly await your report to learn whether it’s true.

3

According to http://www.popcorn.org/epoldtip.htm you can soak the “old maids” and get them to pop. Never tried it myself.