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We consume 16 billion quarts of popcorn every year.

If you’re trying to calculate your share, we’ll do the math: That adds up to about 13 gallons for every man, woman, and child. The stats come from the Popcorn Board, a nonprofit group funded by U.S. popcorn processors. Sales boomed in the 1980s with the invention of the microwavable stuff, climbing from $520 million in sales in 1979 to an all-time high of $1.1 billion in 1993. The spike wasn’t a fluke: Microwavable popcorn was originally frozen. But in the 1990s, new shelf-stable options appeared just as microwave sales increased. “We became a society of convenience,” says Deirdre Flynn, executive director of the Popcorn Board. Sales now hover around $966 million. Why the dip? “Baked chips, pretzels, and other healthy snack foods grew in popularity,” Flynn says.