It’s things like this that show why America is the greatest nation on Earth:

Next time you go to the movies, look out. If the popcorn vendors have read this article, your cup of popcorn might contain fewer pieces than it used to. That’s because the pieces could each be up to twice the volume they were previously.

On the other hand, that’s good news if you make your own popcorn at home, because you’ll be able to get two cups’ worth from the number of kernels that previously gave you just one. What’s more, there will be fewer of those annoying, crunchy unpopped kernels.

How is it done? The trick is simple: just pop the kernels at a lower pressure. Paul Quinn of Kutztown University in Pennsylvania and Joseph Both of the Stanford School of Medicine in California achieved this by fitting a simple vacuum pump to the pressure cooker in which they popped their corn.

And this is one ride I will not be going on:

Six Flags Great Adventure is opening the world’s tallest and fastest roller coaster this spring — a thrill ride that accelerates to 128 mph in 3.5 seconds and rises 456 feet off the ground.

Plans for Kingda Ka, which is expected to be the cornerstone of new development at the central New Jersey amusement park, were to be unveiled Wednesday.

The current speed and height record holder is “Top Thrill Dragster” at Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio. Made by Intamin — the same company Six Flags hired to build Kingda Ka — Dragster shoots riders to 120 mph in 4 seconds and takes them to a height of 420 feet.

An animated depiction of Kingda Ka shows the coaster creeping slowly, stopping and then launching forward horizontally at nearly 130 mph before climbing at a 90-degree angle more than 45 stories above the park.

The coaster then spirals 270 degrees as it plummets, flattens out and climbs again as it shoots over a 129-foot hill, which the company says will make riders feel weightless. It’s over in about 50 seconds.

Yowza! I think I’ll save my money for a trip on Space Ship One.