The secret is out of the tub. It's Flavacol.

I have a friend who loves movie theater popcorn so much that she will drive to the theater to buy a tub and then bring it home so that she can sit on her couch and watch her favorite TIVO'd programs in what she calls "heaven". No lie. I've seen her do it. Sometimes she'll send her teenage sons to make the run. The only thing she's giving up is the free refill but I will bet my bottom dollar that her boys are under a cloak of secrecy and have often made the second run a la Jason Bourne style.

We always joke that certain products have some kind of "crack" in them...like, what's in Dunkin Donuts coffee that makes it taste so good? Same goes for Movie Theater Popcorn but after interviewing an inside source at the theater, I found what's underneath the counter. The secret ingredient is called Flavacol.

For openers, Flavacol does not contribute significantly to your daily nutritional intake. With zero calories, zero grams of fat, zero grams of carbohydrates, zero grams of protein and no vitamin or mineral content, the only significant impact that Flavacol may have on your diet is due to its very high sodium content. Based on a 2,000 calorie per day diet, one teaspoon of Flavacol contains 116 percent, or 2,780mg, of your recommended daily intake of sodium.

The other ingredients are "artificial butter flavor" (that's scary) and FD&C yellows #5 and #6 to provide popcorn with a buttery yellow color. (P.S. that's been linked to hyperactivity in children).

It doesn't sound like it's too healthy for you. No wonder it tastes so good.