The world's largest popcorn ball was built in April of 1997 to recognize the significance of popcorn as a crop in Sac County. Farmers in the area started growing it in 1885 and the area soon gained a reputation as the “Popcorn Capital of the World.”
Sac County produces raw popcorn, microwave popcorn, colored popcorn and popcorn on the cob for microwaving. Perhaps most notably, the Noble Popcorn Plant in Sac County has devised great recipes for flavored popcorn, including French Vanilla, Cheddar Cheese, Carmel, Cinnamon and more. (You can visit their Web site and order some popcorn at www.noblepopcorn.com.)
So it seemed like a natural
WONDERS
OF IOWA
INDEPTHIowa
EssentialIowa
 | ||||
WORLD'S LARGEST POPCORN BALL
Content Copyright 2006 essentialiowa.com
Sac City officials created this giant popcorn ball as a salute to the local popcorn industry.
that when officials at the Sac County Economic and Tourism Development were casting around for a hook to attract people to its annual business and product show, they came up with the idea of making the world’s largest popcorn ball.
SCETD Executive Director Shirley Phillips contacted the Guinness Book of World Records office in New York City and asked about the record for the World’s Largest Popcorn Ball.
“He said, ‘What?’ I told him again, ‘The World's Largest Popcorn Ball.’ He asked, ‘What's that?’ I thought he was joking and said, ‘What did your grandmother feed you for a treat when you were a child.’ He said, ‘Chicken Soup.’ I had my work cut out for me.”
So Phillips drove to the Noble plant and made popcorn balls from their flavored popcorn, wrapped them up, packaged them in a decorative tin and sent it off to Guinness office. When they received the package, Phillips quickly received a call from excited Guinness officials.
In order to qualify for a record, Sac officials were required to provide an
We turn your manuscript
into a published book
COMING UP
Advertisers
Reach Thousands of Potential Customers With Affordable Advertising on Iowa's Only Online Magazine
| ||||
Want to help pay for more content, hosting costs, etc? Click here.
TALKBack
Ask questions, leave a comment, talk about Iowa food and travel, at our new message boards.
A Guide For Newbies and Out-Of-Staters.
THERules
Huge treat lures visitors to Sac City
official recipe and to certify the weight. The Iowa State University Extension office verified the recipe and an Iowa Department of Transportation Vehicle Enforcement crew brought in a portable scale to weigh the monster.
It took 35 volunteers 10 hours to build a 2,225 pound popcorn ball that was 22 feet in circumference. They wrapped the whole think in shrink wrap, only to discover the next day that they should have let it cool down first, and so they did the job all over again.
The popcorn ball was a huge hit at the Sac County Expo, drawing more than 12,000 people, a record. Television crews began visiting to film the popcorn ball and travelers drove to Sac County from as far away as Arizona to see the edible creation. Newspapers, magazines and radio and television stations across the country featured the popcorn ball and it was shipped to the Iowa State Fair to be put on display.
But by 1997, Sac County officials were growing weary of shuttling visitors to the local warehouse where the popcorn ball was on display and someone mentioned blowing up the popcorn ball during the annual thrill show at the Sac County Fair. A certified demolitions expert loaded the ball with seven sticks of dynamite and detonated the giant snack in front of a packed grandstand.
The only problem was that after two years, the ball was still gooey in the middle. Officials had expected a rain shower of popcorn. “It just kind of broke apart in big pieces and the crowd stormed out to get a chunk for a souvenir.”
In the summer of 2005, – in celebration of the county’s sesquicentennial – the group produced an even bigger popcorn ball and built a small barn with a Plexiglas window so that visitors can see the creation whenever without having to track down someone with a key to the warehouse.
In October, an Illinois city bested Sac County’s record by creating a 3,400 pound popcorn ball.
