Popping Popcorn With Cell Phones-Fiction!
Summary of eRumor:
A series of videos showing young people apparently popping popcorn with their cell phones. Four cell phones are arranged facing each other on the top of a table. In the center of the cell phones are several kernels of unpopped popcorn. The cell phones are called at the same time and as they begin to ring, the kernels pop.
The Truth:
The videos are fake, an attempt at viral marketing by Cardo, a manufacturer of Bluetooth headsets. They were originally released on May 28, 2008.
Here is the original and an example of what was circulated:
https://youtu.be/V94shlqPlSI
The message is interpreted by many to be that if the cell phones radiate enough energy to pop popcorn, wearing a headset will be safer than holding the phone to your ear.
Links to the videos started being forwarded around the Internet by people who were concerned about what they were seeing and what it meant about radiation from the phones.
The problem of course, is that popcorn cannot be popped by proximity to cell phones and the videos, according to the folks at Cardo, contained “fictitious and humorous optical illusions designed for entertainment.” A statement from Cardio went on to say, “Nothing in these videos is meant to imply that mobile phones can make popcorn.”
In June, 2008, Cardo admitted that it had created the videos and released versions with its advertising in them.