My wife and I were discussing the sale of a newly constructed home with a Realtor. She was making some suggestions about what could be done to improve the appeal of the home when my wife said, "Don't forget the popcorn." The realtor replied, "I never thought of that. What a good idea."

We had sold several homes ourselves over the last 15 years. Whenever a "showing" was scheduled, we would make sure the aroma of freshly popped corn permeated the whole house. When selling a home in St. Louis, the first potential buyer came through the front door and commented, "Oh I love the smell of popcorn." She offered us $5,000 more than our asking price to make sure no one else would come later and buy it. Such is the potential of popcorn.

I have fond recollections of popcorn as a teenager, long before the microwave kind. When we about 14 or 15 my brother and I would look forward to our parents going out and leaving us at home for a few hours, while they ran errands or went shopping. We would put a quart sized pot on the stove, add a little butter and some popcorn kernels and have a competition to see who could catch the most corn as it flew out of the un-lidded pot. Of course we would clean the kitchen before mom and dad returned. The most fun was putting the kernels in a frying pan and turning up the heat. The corn shot right across the room and made it fun when some of our friends were there to help catchcorn and to help clean up afterwards.

Popped corn makes safe ammunition for sling shots. Because it is bulky and lightweight, it loses momentum quickly, before inflicting lasting damage on your target or victim. For maximum, long range, effect popcorn balls make great ammo, but they need more time and are more trouble to produce. As kids we didn't have the time or patience to look up the recipe for caramel corn or popcorn balls: much less clean up the utensils after making them.

In the 1950s we grew popcorn in our garden in summer. As boys, we enjoyed harvesting the ears, shucking them and letting them dry in the sun. I remember how much fun it was to take the dried ear of corn in my two handed grip and twisting it back and forth, remove all the kernels. We always had a big metal can full of popcorn in the pantry to last us for a year.

Of course, strings of popcorn were always used to decorate the Christmas tree and in many places this is still customary. And what is a movie without this remarkable foodstuff? It, is, as far as I'm concerned, one of the four major food groups, listed just below dark chocolate.

Apparently Native Americans developed popcorn thousands of years ago and popcorn ears dating back 5,600 years have been found in bat caves in New Mexico. It was introduced to Europeans in the late 15 th century when Christopher Columbus noted that Native American made popcorn corsages and headdresses which they sold to his sailors. Way to go Chris.

Popcorn is one of the few snack foods that can actually be good for us. It is a whole grain high quality carbohydrate source that is low in calories. It is also a great source of fiber. That means it helps keep us "regular." Regular is better than the alternative.

The only potential problem with popcorn is that those annoying little skins can get caught between our teeth. But hey, regular brushing with a teethbrush, followed by flossing, will alleviate the problem easily. All we need to do after flossing is clean the bathroom mirror.

Don't forget, although popcorn is a nutritional food, we still need to include exercise as part of a healthy lifestyle. What better or more enjoyable way to exercise than to pop some corn the old fashioned way - on top of the stove in a pot with no lid? The potential uses of popcorn are virtually unlimited.

Bloggers are invited to submit their thoughts on other potential uses of popcorn.

(Note: This is the second in a series of blogs dealing with important domestic issues.)