A friend recently pointed out that, despite most microwave ovens having a Popcorn function, most bags of popcorn specifically say NOT to use that function. It got me wondering how the Popcorn button works (or doesn’t work). Apparently there are several different approaches in common use.
Basic method: Microwave on full power for a set amount of time. With clumsy designs like this I’m not surprised the popcorn sellers would discourage using the Popcorn button.
Improved method 1: Have the user enter the weight of the popcorn bag. The microwave adjusts the cooking time accordingly. Better, but still not great.
Improved method 2: Add a humidity sensor to detect the humidity change when the bag bursts open. Much better; now we have a real-time feedback mechanism.
Improved method 3: Add a microphone to listen for the time between pops, just like humans do. I had no idea this was a real thing, but apparently it has existed for years. For example, Whirlpool calls its implementation “AccuPop.”
Does anyone have another clever idea to add to the list?
I also watched the recent Technology Connections video.
I’m not familiar with Technology Connections, but judging by all the comments I clearly need to check it out.
Gonna upvote this without clicking on it assuming it’s the technology connections video
Link without site tracking: https://youtu.be/Limpr1L8Pss
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a friend called alec watson, who has a popular youtube channel who released a video recently with this exact information, point for point, by any chance?
I’ll play devils advocate here and say their friend is the one who watched Technology Connections and passed the info onto them.
I honestly don’t get what runs through the head of people when they summarise someone else’s research and try and pass it off as their own (…or their “friend’s”).
I mean, it’s a niche, but nonetheless popular YouTube channel. Did they think they wouldn’t get called out?
Even if they did (think that they wouldn’t get called out), what possible gain is there from passing it off as their own? Internet points from anonymous strangers?
Even if they did (think that they wouldn’t get called out), what possible gain is there from passing it off as their own? Internet points from anonymous strangers?
Almost makes you wonder if maybe they weren’t trying to take credit for someone else’s thing, and simply had a conversation with a friend who recently watched that video (or saw that thumbnail, or maybe even just had the same idea around the same time)
I dislike presets with a passion, just like “shooting modes” on a camera.
Or at least document specifically what it does.
My camera has a “pet mode” with a sub-menu where you can choose between “cat” and “dog”. I mean, what the fuck does this do?
Set it to dog.
Cat-dog is a type of dog, else they’d have been called dog-cat.
Sheesh. I did some Googling, posted this quick write-up thinking it was an interesting tidbit, went to bed, and woke up to accusations of ripping off a YouTube channel that I wasn’t aware of. This was my “Simpsons already did it” moment. I accept that most of my thoughts are unoriginal, but please don’t accuse me of intentional plagiarism. I’ll try to be better about linking sources next time.
For what it’s worth, here are some of the places I found info:
- GE describing their microwave popcorn functions
- Gizmodo article about Whrlpool’s microphone system
- A 10-year-old Reddit thread on this exact topic
- A bunch of Quora entries on this exact topic
I hope the dickhead commenters haven’t soured your experience with the channel, it’s well worth watching! My favorite videos of his are the rice cooker one and the dishwasher one because they’ve legitimately changed how I use my appliances
I actually just checked it out on my lunch break and spent 30 minutes learning about brake lights. I see why this guy has so many followers! I’m going to start showing his stuff to my kids.
And to address the other comment you left, I checked back with my friend who brought up popcorn buttons and he did get it from the recent Technology Connections video. Apparently that bastard has been into this channel for years but never told me about it.
I get how that is annoying, lemmy (haha) just say that I am just glad that you posted. Such hate for such a small thing that wasn’t even malice and still spread around a good message is stupid. We should be motivating people to keep posting and we can’t afford it as a small community to lose passion over this.