We like popcorn in the US. A good chunk of the local grocery store aisles are dedicated to it.
But honestly, we put corn in fucking everything. Tortilla chips, fuel for cars, sugar for everything under the sun.
People of off the boat, saw what the indigenous people were consuming, and then decided that corn and tobacco were the best things ever. Were easing up on the tobacco these days though.
Yeah the tobacco thing was way earlier than over here. Though it does get more strict.
Thing is that too include a special microphone in a microwave to listen to popcorn pop is both incredibly specific and over engineered. And I absolutely love every but of that.
I’ve never heard of the microphone thing, but I know a lot of microwaves have had preprogrammed food buttons that either have a timer / power level setting or a steam sensor.
The popcorn thing might be a US thing, but preprogrammed food mode buttons are on lots of microwaves all over the world.
I haven't seen many microwaves without a popcorn button since the 90s. We usually skip over the few that don't when we need to shop for a new microwave (which I've bought two microwaves in the last twenty years, so not a common expense). I'd consider it a basic function, not over-engineering.