There’s something about the smell of popcorn that disrupts the flow of data across 802.11 WLANs.  It’s an interesting phenomenon.  Workers in the office, particularly those who sit close to the break room are finding that there is a direct relationship between the smell of someone making an afternoon popcorn snack and poor/diminished performance of their wireless computers.

We are currently trying to ascertain whether “Movie Theater Butter” popcorn has a greater impact than “Lite” flavors.  The results so far are inconclusive.  Tests are also planned to see if Crunch-N-Munch and other candied popcorn implementations will have a similarly disastrous effect.  We’re hoping that the caramel/butter/popcorn combo produces a synergy that allows for a more effective WLAN disruption mechanism.  We’re optimistic that the exact chemical composition that is disrupting the data flow will be identified.  With a little luck we may be able to weaponize a synthetic formula that allows for pinpoint WLAN DoS attacks by law enforcement and military officials.  Patents are pending.

Wait…..

Seriously?……

Uh…., no.

The symptoms of a network problem can often be misleading and even confusing.  If you don’t have a deep, fundamental understanding how a certain technology works you’ll be hard-pressed to be correct in your diagnosis.  All too common a reality in this day of GUI’s, automated set-up’s and plug & play devices.

Imagine how confused everyone will be when we decide to test the ability of popcorn cooked on the stove (What? You can do that?) to provided similar levels of 802.11 disruption.  They are sure to be baffled by the results.

Sometimes, just sometimes, you just need a new microwave…