Cellphone popcorn hoax revealed as viral marketing scam

The hoax, prompted by videos in which people popped popcorn with the radiation from their cellphones, was for a Bluetooth headset company named Cardo. I’d ding them for promoting bad science, but I have to admit as far as marketing goes, they did their job.

1. [Halloween Jack]

   I’m with Skeptobot. It’s like a company that sells hand-sterilizer lotion doing an ad showing someone getting HIV from a toilet seat.

2. [Anonymous]

   So this got 8 million people so worried they all ran out and bought a mini microwave to strap to their heads

3. [BetterLivingThroughScience]

   what’s the hoax?

4. [Honad]

   Basically that you can pop popcorn with the heat/radiation/magic/sweetness of your cell phone.

5. [HeatherB]

   The actors were terrible. The popcorn did a better job at faking it than they did.

6. [shara jr]

   this video show you how it’s done

   http://www.metacafe.com/watch/1399627/cell_phone_popcorn_hoax_revealed/

7. [Anonymous]

   saw this on cnn alot of people fell for it, they sold 8 million blue tooth headsets since the videos hit the web, and its not just this one, there is another i know of with guys drinkin beers around a black table

8. [Skeptobot]

   “I’d ding them for promoting bad science, but I have to admit as far as marketing goes, they did their job.”

   Shame on you Joel I expected better from you.

   Promoting preposterous science that actively undermines the publics understanding of radiation doesn’t get a pass just because they were trying to sell something!

9. [Jack]

   Who believed those videos were real. They are clearly produced and the actors are clearly acting.

10. [Anonymous]

    Fake you!

11. [Anonymous]

    You can get HIV from toilet seats?!

12. [Anonymous]

    I thought the popcorn I popped with my iPhone after seeing this video tasted fake.