There have been many posts regarding video that supposedly you can pop popcorn using multiple cellphones.

This video was faked. How do we know it was? The *company* who made it admitted to it.

See more at the following sites:

http://blog.wired.com/underwire/2008/06/bluetooth-compa.html
http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2008Jul09/0,4670,OntheNet,00.html
http://www.news.com.au/technology/story/0,25642,23908184-5014108,00.html
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/tech/2008/07/09/carroll.cellphone.popcorn.cnn

Yup, the video was made by the marketing people at Cardo Systems. They are a maker of Bluetooth headsets for cell phones. What are they trying to do: They are misrepresenting science in order to scare you into buying their product. They want you to think that a cellphone is so dangerous that it can pop popcorn and if it can do that, that it could potentially fry your brain. The solution, buy their headsets.

This is called Viral marketing. They create a really cool add and set it out on the internet. A person sees it and spreads it on to this friends. it spreads like a virus. This is also like a video that Honda did a few years back called "Cog" with a long complicated device (a Rube Goldberg) that eventually was an ad for an Accord.

Reality: It takes a 1000W microwave 2-3 minutes to get popcorn hot enough to make it pop. A cell phone puts out only a fraction of a watt of microwave energy to communicate with the network. This low level of energy is not enough to even warm up a kernel, let alone pop it.

So the big question is: How did they do it? Well, Cardo Systems admitted to that too. What they did is this: They dropped pre-popped popcorn kernels (popped using traditional methods) from off camera into the table and then digitally edited out the unpopped ones. So it's a matter of camera trickery and digital video manipulations.

The question is now, what do we do with Cardo Systems. Some groups are calling for a boycott or possible legal action for this underhanded and deceptive form of advertising. Time will tell what the fall out from this is.

In the end, remember this when it comes to Youtube videos: that if it sounds to amazing to be true, it probably is.

More info can be found at these sites:
http://urbanlegends.about.com/b/2008/07/09/cell-phone-popcorn-trick-revealed.htm
http://gawker.com/tag/hoax/?i=395434&t=whos-trying-to-convince-everyone-that-cell-phones-pop-popcorn
http://blog.wired.com/underwire/2008/06/cellphones-cant.html

Here are the transcripts of the CNN interviews, first with Cardo’s marketing manager fessing up to the hoax, and then with its CEO explaining how they did it:

June 18th, 2008:

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: 37 minutes after the hour. It is the viral video that’s popping up all over the Internet. Cell phones on a table ring and some kernels of popcorn situated in between them suddenly pop. Is the video real? Could a cell phone ringing really pop a popcorn kernel? Who’s responsible for all of this and why?

Our Alina Cho joins us now with the answer.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It’s going to work. Give it a second.

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Truth or fiction? Cell phones radioactive enough to pop corn? That’s what millions were asking after three videos popped up on YouTube last week, showing friends making popcorn by simultaneously ringing their cell phones.

This was no scientific experiment. Instead, a stealth marketing campaign by Cardo Systems, the makers of one brand of Bluetooth headsets.

KATHRYN RHODES, MARKETING MANAGER, CARDO SYSTEMS: We wanted to create something that was very unique within the industry and evoke curiosity around our brand.

CHO (on camera): But never in these videos do we even see a Bluetooth.

RHODES: We wanted to leave that very vague so people would then wonder who was behind these videos.

CHO (voice-over): Viral videos like these are a powerful advertising tool. But a clever ad may not be enough. Just as important where the videos are posted.

REUBEN HENDELL, CEO, MRM WORLDWIDE: Just putting videos out there doesn’t make it viral. Actually having something that’s engaging enough, where friends will pass along to friends is what makes it viral.

CHO: The ultimate success, Internet buzz. Cardo Systems says nearly 8 million hits in 12 days, spawning parody videos and also fear. What could a cell phone do to a person’s brain?

RHODES: We don’t ever discuss or imply that there’s any health risk with using a cell phone.

CHO (on camera): You don’t state it. But I think that the message seems to be clear.

RHODES: No, that wasn’t our intent. And in fact, it would take more than 10 million cell phones in a very small space to even attempt to create enough power to pop any type of kernels.

CHO (voice-over): Ultimately, Cardo Systems came clean, posting on its website, “Making popcorn with a cell phone happens only in the movies.”

CHO (on camera): So one final question. If it wasn’t the cell phones popping the popcorn, what was popping the popcorn?

RHODES: Well, that’s a Cardo Systems’ trade secret that we really want to keep a secret so we can keep the curiosity intact.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHO: They wouldn’t tell us. So, Cardo Systems says the company may reveal what’s behind the popcorn mystery eventually. You may have to wait until they make another series of video ads. And a little bit about the process because this is really interesting.

The company actually systematically rolled out the videos after each one received a certain number of hits, finally revealing that Cardo Systems was behind it. Now that drove traffic to their Web site as you might imagine. And the company says, John, that sales of Bluetooth handsets have spiked exponentially just because of these videos.

If you consider this, a Web expert said 500,000 hits is considered a success. 8 million in 12 days and counting, it’s become something of an urban legend, really. But not true.

ROBERTS: It’s amazing though that it can attract that many hits with a lie. But you know – I mean, it’s a very clever marketing campaign.

CHO: Listen. I mean, it is clever. It fooled a lot of people including our staff. Our executive producer said she got wind of it and said – listen, you know, you interns go check this out. So we had interns working on this for four hours trying to – can you imagine sitting around there. We almost got video of it, but we shouldn’t probably attend that, but really interesting. Listen, the whole thing –

ROBERTS: Are they going to get college credit for that?

CHO: We hope so. We hope so. Listen, you know, this Web expert said – you know, you’re a success if you fool people.

ROBERTS: Yes. Well, they certainly did that.

CHO: And they did that. Get them wondering, is it a nod or not. You’re a success already.

ROBERTS: Right. I wonder if truth in advertising law is ever going to come to the Internet. We’ll see.

CHO: Well, we’ll have to see.

ROBERTS: All right, Alina Cho for us this morning. Alina, thanks.

CHO: You bet.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

July 9th, 2008:

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Coming up, who needs a microwave? The truth behind this startling video became an internet sensation, helped the company sell a ton of their products but what was making the popcorn pop? Was it really the cell phone?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: With the internet sensation, this viral video had people wondering if they could actually make popcorn colonels pop by using their cell phone. It turns out those viral videos that popped up last month were part of a guerrilla marketing campaign.

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: When they first came out, a lot of people were wondering if you can use a cell phone to pop popcorn what’s it doing to your brain when you’ve got it up to your ear? The company that made the video said that it won’t reveal how it made the popcorn pop. But now in an exclusive in-depth interview with CNN, the man behind the videos lets us in on the secret.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: These videos have become a global internet sensation. Friends making popcorn by simultaneously ringing their cell phones. But it turns out the videos were a hoax, and this is the man behind the joke.

ABRAHAM GLEZERMAN, CEO, CARDO SYSTEMS: I am happy that it surpassed our expectations.

CARROLL: Abraham Glezerman is the CEO of Credit Cardo Systems. He says the videos were actually an internet advertisement for the company’s product, Bluetooth headsets. It is known as viral advertising because when consumers like what they see they pass them along, like a virus.

How did you come up with the concept for this?

GLEZERMAN: We sat down and said how can we create something that’s funny, hilarious and causes people to try and emulate it and eventually, of course, touching on our business.

CARROLL: And it worked.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is mine.

CARROLL: Some posted their own video versions trying to solve the mystery of how they got those kernels to pop. One disassembled a microwave. Finally, for the first time the real answer.

GLEZERMAN: The real thing is a mixture between a kitchen stove and digital editing.

CARROLL: You fried the popcorn separately somewhere else and then just dropped it in there, then digitally removes the kernels.

GLEZERMAN: Absolutely. You got it.

CARROLL: Did it really make the point to buy the company’s Bluetooth?

REUBEN HENDELL, CEO, MRM WORLDWIDE: You kind of get too quirky or too obtuse with what you’re trying to say, people miss the whole idea. We really never meant to insinuate any of that. The truth is that it was funny.

CARROLL: And what about the idea of the media trying to scare people from holding cell phones close to their heads?

GLEZERMAN: We never meant to insinuate any of that.

CARROLL: This wasn’t about scaring people.

CARROLL: It wasn’t about scaring. It wasn’t. If it was the reactions would have been totally different. People laughed.

CARROLL: How do you top yourself when you’ve done something like that?

GLEZERMAN: Stealth marketing has to maintain a secret and you don’t use the world stage to let them know. But stay tuned. Next round is coming.

CARROLL: Jason Carroll, CNN, New York.

ROBERTS: So, let’s see. So, they made people believe you could pop popcorn with a cell phone to encourage them to buy – encourage you to buy their Bluetooth. But they weren’t...

CHETRY: I have to laugh because of all of our theories didn’t work. They were not correct. We thought they were actually using some sort of heating element underneath the table to get the popcorn to pop.

ROBERTS: It’s just like they make those “Star Wars” movies, folks. They’re not real either.

CHETRY: Well, thanks so much for joining us this morning. We’re going to see you back here tomorrow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0806/17/ltm.02.html
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0807/09/ltm.03.html

wtf is all this? im sure it is tru that u can pop corn with cellphones it has been tested LIVE about 7 times and i've seen it wiht my own eyes you just have to set it up blackberry is the best on vibrate face it upwards and surround the corn

Jeebuz!!

The company admits a hoax and you're still too dim-witted to grasp the simple science behind it and claim that it's not only real, but that you've seen it?

man i was going to submit that idea but that as a cool video

Hmm... well, perhaps someone confessed to it.. but it still makes a good myth to bust isn't it?

Anyway, it could also be a marketing gimmick to confess to it.. a lousy blotched gimmick, but hey, in today's world, anything goes. People get famous, or infamous for the stupidist things and they end up having fans..

it sounds busted but it looks like a cool myth for them to test

[quote]well, perhaps someone confessed to it.. but it still makes a good myth to bust isn't it?[/quote]

I'm so sick of hearing this kind of logic.

Okay, I'll make a CGI-edited video of me putting water in my gas tank, starting the car and suddenly my car hovers up into the air, the wheels fold inward and then I fly off into the sky until I hit 88 miles an hour at which point I go back in time.

Then I'll admit the video is a fake. Will anyone post on this forum asking "well, is it true? Can putting water in your gas tank really make your car fly and go back in time? It makes a good myth to bust doesn't it?"

hmmm... when i first posted the video of this, i had no idea it would start up this heated of a discussion.

i first found it on one of the amateur radio forums i am a part of and being an amateur radio operator myself, i understand the fundamentals of RF energy (as in how a microwave works).

the reason for posting this is because i did not know just how much energy i would need to pop a few pieces of popcorn. thats where the Mythbusters come in.

now if you had the means to slowly ramp the power up on a cellphone (because i can tell you that you can pop popcorn at the frequency that todays cellphones operate... it's just a matter of power) until the popcorn pops. now i also know that you couldn't use more then one cellphone to do this cause just one of the other phones could be out of phase enough (about 180 degrees) with the others and that is enough cancel out the other phones. that is how those BOSE noise canceling headphones work.

all in all... i just thought it would be more fun to watch them try it then to watch a bunch of other people bitch about the original post.

happy busting all

Dave

[quote]Will anyone post on this forum asking "well, is it true?...[/quote]


Yes.

Unfortunately, yes.

It's fake. We know it's fake. They've ADMITTED it's fake. Even before they admitted it was fake, we ALREADY knew it was fake. Cell phones WON'T pop popcorn.

Yet victorchoo, g8or15, and others still think it would make a good show.

Why, guys? We know nothing is going to happen. What, exactly, do you think would be entertaining about watching a bunch of people sitting there, staring at cell phones and popcorn not popping? Frankly, that sounds extraordinarily dull, but maybe that's just me.

yes, its fake, but it might just take the mythbusters to prove to everyone that it is fake
so, i think it mght be worth it to waste their time

i saw this on myspace it doesn't really look like a comercial or add and i didn't see any blue tooth headsets just 4 different types of phones

here's the link

http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=35848557
i saw it on myspace looked amaturishly shot

Wow.......

[quote]i saw this on myspace it doesn't really look like a comercial or add and i didn't see any blue tooth headsets just 4 different types of phones[/quote]

That's the whole point, to get people passing the video around and to get them to think that normal cell phones are somehow dangerous.

They were not shooting to get people to but their headsets in particular, but to buy headsets in general. They would have increased their sales alone with other makers.

in the words of the CEO of the company who made it: "It’s amazing though that it can attract that many hits with a lie. But you know – I mean, it’s a very clever marketing campaign."

[quote]i saw this on myspace it doesn't really look like a comercial or add and i didn't see any blue tooth headsets just 4 different types of phones[/quote]

In addition to what WV said, part of the purpose of the ad campaign was that it NOT look like a normal advertisement. It's SUPPOSED to look like a bunch of schmoes doing this at home. It if looked like a normal ad - with the product prominantely placed, product name splashed all over the screen, etc - then it would not have been nearly as effective.

I think Mythbusters will still have to bust this myth for all the non believers out there!!!

I JUST got the cell phone popcorn e-mail TODAY (July 25) so it's still going around out there!

Plus I don't think that everyone who gets the e-mail will come here to check the forum before believing and forwarding it on!

[quote]I JUST got the cell phone popcorn e-mail TODAY (July 25) so it's still going around out there![/quote]

So it's now your job to notify everyone on that emails distribution list and let them know the truth.

Just a link to one of the news stories listed above and one click on the "Reply All" button should do it.

K Greg, noted

[quote]I think Mythbusters will still have to bust this myth for all the non believers out there!!![/quote]

There is no point of testing it, because it is STILL not possible.

Anyway if they do it, which is very unlikely to happen, they will get countless posts saying they did it wrong, mostly from people with single posts.

To those people who still think it will make a good show(or the people who still think it is possible) use Google, watch the news, or check out those other videos that don't work.