Orville Redenbacher grew up in Clay County, earning money by selling popcorn planted on the family farm. After earning a degree in agriculture from Purdue University, he worked as a teacher and county extension agent for almost a decade before being hired in January 1940 as manager of Princeton Farms.

popcorn Orville Clarence Redenbacher (July 16, 1907 – September 19, 1995) was an American food scientist and businessman most often associated with the brand of popcorn that bears his name which is now owned by Conagra Brands.

Orville Redenbacher was born on a farm in Brazil, Indiana, in 1907. At 12, he began to grow and peddle his own popping corn, which allowed him to save money for college. He graduated from Perdue University with a degree in agronomy and as a member of Alpha Gamma Rho, an agriculture-oriented fraternity.

Orville Redenbacher's

By 1965, Orville and his business partner Charles Bowman perfect their popcorn hybrid - it is light and fluffy, leaves hardly any unpopped kernels, achieves a 44:1 ratio in volume of popped to unpopped corn, and, of course, tastes great.

And Orville Redenbacher's® SmartPop! Kettle Corn Popcorn is 94% fat free, made with 0 g trans fat per serving, and has 15 calories per cup popped, making it a smart food to snack on.

Orville Redenbacher's Original Yellow Gourmet Popcorn Kernels are the highest quality for popping on the stovetop, in your air popper, or in an electric popper. These 100% natural, Non-GMO Project Verified whole-grain and gluten-free original popcorn kernels are a delicious, yet wholesome snack.

Corn was domesticated about 10,000 years ago, in what is now Mexico. Archaeologists discovered that people have known about popcorn for thousands of years. Fossil evidence from Peru suggests that corn was popped as early as 4,700 BC.

By the mid 1970s, Redenbacher and Bowman had captured a third of the unpopped popcorn market. According to industry estimates, the brand, still the national leader in the $1 billion annual popcorn market, accounts for about 45 percent of the microwave market. These amazing successes are not all coming from luck.

10 Interesting Popcorn Facts

• Interesting Fact #1: Popcorn can pop up to 30 times its size and up to 3 feet in the air.
• Interesting Fact #2: You can cook popcorn in butter, oil, air-pop, and even hot sand.
• Interesting Fact #3: Popcorn has been spotted throughout ancient North, Central, and South America.

The first commercial popcorn machine was invented by Charles Cretors in 1885. Nebraska produces the most popcorn in America, around 250 million pounds per year. Microwaveable popcorn was invented by Pillsbury in 1982. Popcorn is a healthy GMO-free and gluten-free snack.

® With just 100 calories per 6 cups (and 0 grams trans fat per serving), you can snack on 94% fat free popcorn without giving up the fresh-popped taste and aroma you love.