Re: popcorn ...
I remember blowing my kids minds a few years ago. They wanted popcorn and we were out of the microwave kind. BUT I happened to have a jar of regular popcorn in the pantry for some reason, pulled it out, popped a batch in a kettle on top of the stove, and voila! My boys, awestruck said: "I didn't know you could DO that!"
And then reflect back that there was no such thing as a microwave when I was a kid, or a personal computer ... we cooked dinner on the stove or in the oven, talked to people on the phone (with cord attached), TV had 4 channels and we didn't even HAVE a TV for a number of years .... like another planet!
And DS#1 was born in 1991 and is in his first year of college, so I can particularly relate!