Easy, No-Mess, Air-Popped Popcorn

I love popcorn. I mean I love popcorn. Popcorn is to me as spinach is to Popeye, you get me? Air-popped with butter is the best, but kettle-popped is good too. I don’t really care for movie theater popcorn or microwave, but it’ll do in a pinch. But I digress – on to the main event!More…
As I said, air-popped ‘corn is the best, but the thing I don’t like about it is, no matter how big a bowl I use, some kernels always end up flying out on the counter, on the floor, into the sink, etc. What’s worse, having to dig up that episode of Mythbusters to see if the “3-second rule” really works, or if it’s worth trying to grab that one that went into the sink, which invariably ends up soggy… eww… soggy popcorn… But I digress, again!
Solution! Get a medium-sized paper bag, and hold it under the mouth of the popper while the corn is being ejected. The bag will catch all of the kernels, and even if some of them pop while in the bag, they have a much harder time escaping than they would from a bowl.
Safety note: I would not use a small bag, or totally suffocate the popper. I don’t know how hot these things can get, or if they could hit 451?F, but why take the chance? Also, don’t use a plastic bag. Even if the air doesn’t melt it, an unpopped kernel or two surely could.
UPDATE: If you cut a flap in one of the sides of the bag, you can stand it up straight under the spout, instead of having to hold the bag in place.
Happy popping!
So… do you think Gawker is hiring? I think I could be an occasional Lifehacker correspondent.

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