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The Orville Redenbacher
Official Popcorn Popper |
Orville's posthumous biography by Len Sherman |
Tin Box with
Reden-Budders, Movie Theater Butter Gourmet |
TRIVIA NOTE: Being a "pop" culture icon, the folksy character of Orville
Redenbacher has appeared in a variety of tribute's to his popularity. He
appeared on the animated cartoon THE SIMPSONS as a member of a secret
Masonic-like club called The Stonecutters on episode "Homer the Great," and was
mentioned in a conversation between Homer Simpson and his family on episode
"Homer Goes to College":
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Homer Simpson tells his family about his 3 new
friends. |
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Homer: |
We played Dungeons & Dragons
for three hours! Then I was slain by an elf. |
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Bart: |
Listen to yourself, man:
you're hangin' with nerds. |
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Homer: |
You take that back! |
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Marge: |
Homer, please! These boys
sound very nice, but they're clearly nerds. |
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Homer: |
Really? But nerds are my
mortal enemy! |
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Lisa: |
Dad, nerds are nothing to
fear. In fact, they've done some pretty memorable things. Some nerds of
note include...popcorn magnate Orville Redenbacher, rock star David
Byrne, and supreme court justice David Souter. |
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Homer: |
[gasp] Oh, not Souter! Oh, no! |
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-- Episode "Homer Goes to
College" |
One Internet site created an animated short called "Orville Redenbacher's
Last Commercial." In this morbid but funny cartoon, Orville is presumed to be
senile, When he is given stage directions to "eat a handful of popcorn," Orville
goes crazy and "eats the hand" of a stage crew member. The film ends with the
director of the spot shooting a volley of bullets into Orville. Outside the
studio, the gunshots were thought to be Orville just popping his corn.
Orville Redenbacher also mingled with TV character greats like the millionaire
Howell couple - Thurston (Jim Backus) and his wife, Lovey (Natalie Schafer) from
the cult hit GILLIGAN'S ISLAND.
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Orville: |
Hello. I'm Orville
Redenbacher. Do these millionaires know about the delicious, economic
snack.... |
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Mr. Howell: |
Caviar? Truffles? |
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Mrs. Howell: |
Oh no darling, this is gourmet
popping corn. |
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Orville: |
Right! It pops bigger and
fluffier than regular popcorn. Most every kernel pops. And you can pop all
of this [multiple bowls of popped popcorn on table[ for about the same
price as two bags of chips. |
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Mr. Howell: |
Call my broker! We'll corner
the market! |
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Orville: |
Pop my Gourmet Popping Corn
tonight. It's the best. Or my name isn't Orville... |
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Mrs. Howell: |
Hello. Corner Market? |
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Orville: |
...Redenbacher |
A competitor to Orville Redenbacher's product was "Explod-O-Pop®", a
microwave popcorn (the world's first all-natural atomic popping corn) featured
on the LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN. Initially the popcorn was imaginary, but
after repeated references on the show, the popcorn was sold through the CBS
Store for five dollars a box. Explod-O-Pop® was first mentioned on April 1,
2002.
During one of Dave's calls to Stephanie Birkitt, he asked her to choose her
favorite brand of popcorn. He offered her a selection of four brands which
included Jolly Time®, Orville Redenbacher's®, Newman's Own® or Explod-O-Pop®.
Dave expected her to pick the CBS product but Stephanie chose Orville
Redenbacher's® because she thought Explod-O-Pop® sounded too scary.
A final note: A USA Today report in 2005 based on the American Chemical
Society's BioMacromolecules journal reported that researchers at Redenbacher's
alma mater Purdue University in Indiana revealed the mystery of "Why do some
popcorn kernels pop while others don't?"
"Food scientist Agung Tandjung, a native of Indonesia and newcomer to the entire
popcorn concept, found that something surprising happens when heat is applied to
the outer bran layer of the kernel, called the pericarp. (For non-biologist
readers, that's the yellow bit that gets caught between your teeth.)
In the few seconds before the cellulose matrix that makes up the pericarp is
destroyed by the popping kernel, it actually reorders itself and gets stronger.
A pericarp strengthened by a better crystalline structure makes for a fully
popped corn kernel, the researchers found....A strong pericarp is the key to
popability." (The average popping temperature for popcorn is around 175°C )
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