2389 Bold Maid

I was popping some popcorn recently and it occurred to me that it was one of the overlooked examples of egregious sexism in our society. 

What, you say, was Orville Redenbacher some pop secret representative of harassment and viewing women as second-class citizens?  A proponent of non-equal rights and women's place being in the home, possibly popping popcorn?

Nothing of the sort.  The last thing I want to do is smear Orville with that greasy pointing finger.  For all I know he was a champion of women's rights.  No, I'm talking about what we call unpopped kernels of corn. There's nothing corny about it.  Old Maids.

I called them that the other day in front of my son and he was surprised.  "What do you mean, Pop?" He said, "Why is an unpopped corn kernel called an old maid?  And what exactly is an old maid?"

A legitimate question, considering we even have a card game around that's called the same.  "Old maid" was what older unmarried women were called in the days of sexist yore.  Because presumably, one's only purpose in life, if one was female, was to get married and have children.

God forbid that you make a name for yourself or be a financial success because you concentrated on your career.  If you were unmarried without children you were sneeringly referred to as a spinster.  Or an old maid.  As opposed to an older unmarried male who has done well in society being referred to simply as a bachelor.  Or a good catch. 

Interestingly, that’s in English speaking countries.  In France the Old Maid card game is about a confirmed bachelor.  It's called Black Peter. 

A nice substitute, but I think I'll just called those popcorn failures "unpopped kernels." 

America, ya gotta love it.