Headset maker comes clean on cell phone + popcorn gag

Hey, have you seen the video that shows how if you point a few cell phones at popcorn kernels and dial them all at once they'll pop? Sorry, folks, but it just isn't true. Turns out it's all a viral marketing stunt (and a hugely successful one, at that) from Bluetooth headset maker Cardo.

Throughout the week, inboxes have been flooded with "You gotta see this!" messages from people who'd seen the YouTube sensation. The video (watch the original here; the various videos have all been updated and are now labeled as "made by Cardo Systems") shows a group of friends carefully pointing their cell phones at a quartet of popcorn kernels. When all the phones begin to ring simultaneously, the kernels explode into popped popcorn. Delicious! Dangerous? While it says nothing about the issue, the video is supposed to get you thinking about radiation. If cell phones can do that to popcorn, imagine what they're doing pressed up against your face. Ideally, Cardo would like you to then start thinking about buying a Bluetooth headset... ideally one of its models.

Now Cardo's coming clean, possibly a little worried about the panicked response some viewers have had to the video. (As well: Other videos, equally faked with a straight face, have followed.) In a statement the company says, "The 'cell phone and popcorn popping campaign' is completely untrue and a joke. It has been seen by over 4.1 million users already and has become a sort of global urban legend as it continues to be tried throughout the world."

Of course there's still the matter of: If it wasn't cell phones popping that corn, what did? Theories have ranged from hair driers to hot plates to police department microwave radar guns to CGI. There's clearly something under that table. Who puts a tablecloth on the coffee table, anyway? Alas, the mystery continues. When I asked Cardo's PR rep which was the truth, he said, "You know, I don’t actually know."

POLL: All in good fun or irresponsible stunt?