Who Invented the Popcorn Machine?

Who invented the popcorn machine? The man who invented the popcorn machine was named Charles Cretors.

In 1885, a Chicago man by the name of Charles Cretors invented and designed the first working commercial-use popcorn machine. At the time, the only means he had to test his machine out was by acting as a customer on the streets of Chicago, as he did not receive his official Peddler’s License until early December of the same year.

After that, he began selling his popcorn from his mobile popcorn stand, following crowds around at fairs and parades.

• By the summer of 1886, the city of Chicago had dozens of people on street corners, selling popcorn that had been popped in a Cretors’ designed popcorn machine.
• These large, cumbersome machines operated by either gas boiler heat or steam, and were difficult to maneuver through crowded city streets, but if vendors wanted to earn a living, they managed as well as they could.
• The Cretors name is still branded as a popcorn machine manufacturer today. 

Given the American innovative spirit, however, the popcorn machine underwent significant design changes quite quickly and became smaller, more efficient and safer to use to create the beloved snack. However, all of the subsequent machines created for the purpose of popping corn used Cretors’ design as the basis for their initial design.

With the passing of time the air popper came to be. Today, the popcorn machine allows popcorn to be popped at home quite simply, without the use of either oil or steam.... and it is all thanks to Charles Cretors, the man who invented the popcorn machine.