Friends of ours are harvesting their sweet corn this week, which made me think about looking up some historical info about corn.
1. How many types of corn are there?
Six: sweet corn, dent corn (grain corn), flour corn, flint corn (Indian corn), popcorn, and pod corn (wild maize).
2. How long has popcorn been around?
According to archaeologists, corn was popped in Peru as early as 4700 BC. In the 1890s Charles Cretors invented a steam-powered popcorn maker.
3. When was sweet corn developed?
Sweet corn is a spontaneous mutation of field corn. The first recorded sweet corn was given to Europeans by the Iroquois in 1779. In the twentieth century hybridization improved the quality and disease resistance of sweet corn.
4. When did corn mazes become popular?
As early as 1982. (I would have thought earlier.)
5. Why don’t corn husk dolls have faces?
According to Native American legend, the Corn Spirit wanted to make something for the people, so the Great Spirit gave her permission to make a corn husk doll. The doll had a lovely face and as she went from village to village playing with the children everyone told her how beautiful she was. She became so vain that the Great Spirit gave her a warning; when she ignored it he took away her face. To this day corn husk dolls are made without faces.
6. What are some interesting world records involving corn?
- “A corn cob grown by Bernard Lavery of Llanharry, Rhondda Cynon Taff, UK in 1994 measured 92 cm (36.25 in) in length.”
- “The most corn cobs on a single plant is 29, and was achieved by Matthew Jacovelli (USA) in Deptford, New Jersey, USA, on 30 August 2019.”
- “The most corn husked in one minute is 13 ears of corn, achieved by Michael Diggins Jr. (USA) in Scarborough, Maine, USA on 15 November 2015.”
- “The largest temporary corn maze is 60 acres (24.28 hectares) and was created by Cool Patch Pumpkins (USA) at their premises in Dixon, California, USA, and verified on 3 October 2014.”
Interesting topic! My husband’s grandfather was a farmer and a knowledgeable Pioneer Seed Corn dealer. He knew his business! The family always had Pioneer Seed Corn paring knives, including us, in our drawers.