If you've ever seen a movie on the big screen, you know there is one snack that's more popular than any other.
如果你曾經在大熒幕上觀看過電影，你就會知道，有一種小吃比其他所有小吃都受歡迎。
Popcorn. But, why?
那就是爆米花。但是為什麼呢？
Why do we always eat popcorn at the movies?
為什麼我們看電影時總要吃爆米花？
Let's find out on today's episode of Colossal Questions.
讓我們在今天的"浩瀚問題"節目中揭曉答案吧。
Back before the big screen was invented, popcorn was a popular snack at carnivals and fairgrounds around the United States.
早在大熒幕發明之前，爆米花就是美國各地的狂歡節和露天市場裡一種流行的小吃。
By the late 1800s, the popcorn making machine was invented and it became even easier to make and sell the stuff.
直到19世紀後期，爆米花機被發明出來，於是爆米花的製造和銷售更加便捷。
Popcorn was super cheap and super popular but it wasn't exactly fancy.
爆米花非常便宜，很受歡迎，但它可不怎麼上檔次。
So when the first movie theater's opened around 1900, they wanted nothing to do with the delicious salty snack.
因此，1900年左右，第一家電影院開業時，他們就瞧不上這種可口的鹹味小吃。
You see, movie theaters were seen as a new-fangled version of the classic theater which has a distinctly fancy feel to it.
當時的電影院，被視為傳統劇院的新型衍生物，因此縈繞著一種明顯的高級氣息。
No normal theater would ever allow such a loud and messy food into its performances.
普通劇院是絕不會允許如此吵鬧又容易搞得髒兮兮的食物進入其中的。
So movie theater owners did the same.
所以電影院老闆也照做了。
But all that changed in 1927 when the very first films with sound called talkies came out.
但是，事情在1927年發生了變化，當時第一部有聲電影誕生了。
Now, movies were no longer trying to mimic the sophisticated theater experience and became popular entertainment for everyone.
於是電影不再試圖模仿複雜的劇院體驗，而是成為大眾化的流行娛樂方式。
So movie theaters changed their whole vibe.
電影院也隨之改變了整體氛圍。
Instead of trying to be fancy like the traditional theater, movie theaters became cheap and easy entertainment for people rich and poor, and popular popcorn was the perfect inexpensive food to go with the film.
電影院不再像傳統劇院那樣追求高級感，而是成為更便宜，且富人窮人都可享受的簡單娛樂方式，爆米花則成為與電影完美搭配的廉價食品。
Early theaters didn't have the space to add popcorn concession stands.
早期的影院沒有足夠的空間來設置爆米花攤位。
So street vendors quickly started posting up outside theaters.
因此街頭小販很快就開始在影院外面擺起了攤。
After a few years, some vendors started paying a fee to theaters to sell their popcorn right in the lobby to catch the crowds as people entered a movie.
幾年後，一些小販開始向影院老闆支付費用，讓他們可以在影院大廳出售爆米花，剛好可以吸引到來看電影的觀眾。
Eventually the theater owners realized they could cut out the middle man and sell popcorn themselves.
最終，影院老闆意識到他們可以跳過中間人，自己出售爆米花。
Popcorn became a must-have for any movie theater.
爆米花就成為了每家影院的必需品。
It was so popular that theaters who didn't sell it had trouble attracting moviegoers.
它太受歡迎了，甚至不賣爆米花的影院都招攬不到觀眾。
But the relationship between popcorn and the movies was really set in stone during World War II.
在二戰期間，爆米花和電影之間的關係一度如同板上釘釘般堅定。
Things like chocolate and sugar were rationed during the war which made it hard to get candy.
戰爭期間，巧克力和糖之類的物資需要定量配給，所以人們很難吃到糖。
But salt and popcorn kernels were never rationed.
但是鹽和爆米花仁的配給從未受限。
So the country's favorite movie theater treat was even more available and even more popular.
於是這種美國人最愛的影院零食越來越多，也越來越受歡迎。
Ever since, popcorn and movies have continued to be as iconic as any duo out there.
從那時起，爆米花和電影就如同二重奏一般具有標誌性。
The only difference, those buckets keep getting bigger and bigger and bigger and I'm okay with it.
唯一的不同是，爆米花桶越變越大了，不過我倒是可以接受。
And now you know why we eat popcorn at the movies.
現在你知道為什麼我們看電影時要吃爆米花了。
Comment below if you have a question you'd like to know the answer to and remember to subscribe for more episodes of Colossal Questions!
如果你有希望得到解答的問題，歡迎在下方留言，記得訂閱我們的「浩瀚問題」頻道。