I hate having to stand around the microwave, paying attention to when "the sound of popping kernels are three seconds apart". Why not either a popcorn package that emits a tea-kettle-like whistle when it is at its prime popped state?
If this is louder than the sound of the microwave fan, you could come running without monitoring kernels popping/not popping.-- lewarcher, Oct 14 2001 Do microwaves not 'beep' or 'ding' after the preset time?-- angel, Oct 15 2001 Move the microwave into the living room. Put it on top of the fridge (full of beer) that should be situated not more than 6 inches from your La-Z-Boy recliner. You're just making life hard for yourself.-- pottedstu, Oct 15 2001 Angel: Microwave popcorn doesn't run for any preset time, because microwaves are all different.
Best bet is to do it a few times standing next to it to figure out how long it takes till it's done, then just set it for that...-- StarChaser, Oct 15 2001 My microwave pops popcorn automagically. It never burns it, period. The manual says that it monitors humidity in the cooking chamber and varies power to cook the popcorn perfectly, shutting off when it gets down to 3-4 pops per second. I have noticed that the length of time it cooks popcorn varies depending on the age, brand and whether or not it's super theatre monster butter or light popcorn.-- bristolz, Oct 16 2001 Three minutes, thirty-five seconds for my microwave.
Why isn't there a recliner (or sectional couch) with a built-in microwave? You can get built-in phone jacks, refrigerators, storage bins, magazine racks, massagers and speakers but no microwave. Makes you wonder if we have our priorities straight.-- phoenix, Oct 25 2001 Believe it or not this is a serious issue for some people. Before I started work in my office microwave popcorn was banned...yes banned. Why? Because one person took exception to burnt microwave popcorn...it mortally offended this person. Fortunately this person was relieved of her job & our office is free to nuke popcorn but with caution.-- bluerowan, Oct 26 2001 I dislike the stench of even properly-prepared microwave popcorn, but can tolerate it.-- StarChaser, Oct 27 2001 bluerowan: wow finally someone else who uses the term 'to nuke' when talking about using a microwave. I like this idea, although I really want to know what type of microwave bristolz has, and where I can get one.-- kaz, Oct 27 2001 I have for years...even been bitched at by someone who said it was 'culturally insensitive' because I was talking to an Asian <Korean> cow-orker at the time...-- StarChaser, Oct 27 2001 kaz: I'm pretty sure it's a Panasonic. It's all stainless. Don't know what model but it's a couple years old (came with the house).-- bristolz, Oct 30 2001 i say combine this idea with the nude exotic hair cutting lady and you got a winner. BTW (no, that does not stand for Blonde Taoist Woman) i like my "bop" slightly burnt, so it stays just a little longer than 3 minutes...the "nuts" are crunchy-- 1MilesWest2, Oct 31 2001 random, halfbakery