Give the Westbend Stir Crazy Popcorn maker another chance. You must have had a dud or not had the stir bar screwed in correctly.

I've gone through two over the past 20 years (the first one dropped on the floor and shattered after about 18 years of flawless service). We make popcorn up to three times a week, so these machines last and last and last.

My mom also had one for over 20 years that she used every single day.

I've never had problems with the stir bar sticking. My Stir Crazy poppers have been flawless. Yes, I'll admit the butter melting option is pretty lame, but we usually don't put butter on our popcorn.

We've had fun trying different kinds of popcorn and oil, using different quantities of each. My dad puts in a few drops of hot sauce for a spicy popcorn.

The popcorn is always light and fluffy. Kids love to watch it.

I know a few people who also use the Stir Crazy to heat/roast nuts but I've never tried it.

This reviewer is simply not competent to operate a Stir-Crazy! I know from 20+ years experience with this machine that the bonehead left the small plastic cover inplace on the big bowl-cover. This keeps all the steam in (because it is the water inside the kernel that causes the pop!)and keeps the corn from getting crisp & crunchy! You should only attach that snap-on thingy just before turning the popper over. (It is there so that hot water/oil do not drip on your counter). And the only way kernels get caught under the wire stirring-rod is if the assembler didn't screw down the hub tight anough. But go ahead, ignore the best-selling popper in history at your own peril, Reviewer-without-a-clue. That will keep the price down for little me!