...popcorn: the story behind this new menace...

today, tragedy struck as a young woman tried to prepare a midmorning snack for herself and her brother. "i just wanted to make a spot of popcorn," stalker, 15, recounts, her voice trembling with distress. but instead of crunchy, buttery goodness, she was met with a horrific horror. "i-it said four minutes on the package," she told us, unshed tears quivering in the corner of her eyes. but at only three minutes and forty-eight seconds, the poor girl turned around to see clouds of smoke issuing from her microwave. "i took one look at it and figured out what had happened. then everything went black." after she fainted stalker was taken to general hospital to be treated for shock and smoke inhalation. her brother sat home, ate the burned popcorn, and looked at old teen magazine bill gates photo spreads.