Source: YouTube

If it expands more or less equally in all directions, you’ll get this – the “mushroom”.

This shape is rare in home and theater popcorn; you’ll mostly see it made into flavored popcorn because it’s super sturdy. Instead, the starch in most commercial popcorn kernels expands more chaotically, creating a shape known in the popcorn biz as a “butterfly”. But butterflies can actually take on three distinct subshapes. Even weirder is that these different shapes are markedly different in their texture, the amount of oil and salt they tend to pick up, and even their chemical composition, which means the proportion of the various shapes you get in a batch can really affect your eating experience.

Source: Why Popcorn Explodes Into Different Shapes

TIL that popcorn kernels are different from other corn kernels - I always thought they were just “dried” corn kernels. The shapes do make sense. However, the science behind choosing the right amount of shapes to cater to a specific eating profile is fascinating.