American Originals Pop Corn Maker

I've been using hot air popping machines for nearly 45 of my 65 years, and so when my trusty old hot air popper finally gave up the ghost, I looked around for a replacement. This is the one I chose, and I can only say that it was one of the worst experiences that I've ever had, and that it could have cost me my eye sight. This machine is, in my opinion, dangerous.
First of all, on the positive side, the machine has an on-off switch, something my old machined did not have. The corn it does pop is tasty, and the final advantage is that the looks of the machine are very stylish.
But I've returned the machine for its uncivilised habit of spitting out super-hot, un-popped kernels that often reach the bowl and explode, showering popcorn every which way and messing the kitchen. In more than one instance, I have been hit in the face with hot popcorn as I watched it pop. I wear eyeglasses, so no damage was done, but It would not have been a pleasant experience to have this happen while popping corn for the grand kids.
There are other concerns too. First, only about half of the corn that gets put in the popper comes out having popped, the remainder remains in either un-popped or partially popped kernels. My old machine did leave a few kernels un-done, but this one left way too many! The second concern is what I dare call build quality. The `dome' of the machine was not well fitted, and could easily be knocked lose, and the switch did not have a positive on off action: it felt a bit like I had better expect that someday soon, I would turn the machine on and nothing would happen because the switch would no longer work.
So, my advice, give this one a miss. I'm still looking for a good replacement for my reliable old hot air popper.

It's OK but suffers from what a lot of other popcorn makers suffer from - difficult to get the convenience of a hot air driven popcorn maker that lets the popped corn out but keeps the unpopped kernels in.... so what ends up happening is the corn pops, falls into your bowl (see second point below), but it also brings with it some of the unpopped kernels.

That leads into the other design challenge is you need to create a tea towel funnel to channel the popcorn from the maker into the bowl, without it popcorn just explodes over your kitchen much to the amusement of the kids.

As I say i dont think this is unique to American Originals - it's probably a design issue with most of them. So I'm just putting up with it, whilst honing my tea towel origami skills. The latest is holding the openning closed whilst the popped corn builds up, which in turn allows some of the unpopped kernels to drop back down, and then releasing it in batches when it gets full - seems to have resulted in less unpopped kernels... will keep testing. Who knew popcorn popping strategy could get so intense!

Was very excited when I bought this product but was very disappointed after the first use. The product only pops half of the kernels put in which makes a small bowl of popcorn - enough for one person and then you have to wait 10mins to let the machine cool before you can pop more. The hot kernels shoot everywhere thus making a big mess in the kitchen. The kernels come out hot and at great speed so I personally think this is a dangerous product especially if children are watching the popcorn pop. We decided the popcorn wasn't worth the mess it made so have taken ours back.