Grandpa Gotta Ponder: Why Doesn't All Food Come With A Fortune?
Seriously. You're Doing This Here?
It's been a while since I wrote about my fortune cookie fortunes. It hasn't been due to a lack of eating Chinese food, and the corresponding fortune cookie fortunes have been piling up.
Image source—Pixabay
I actually got a version of this fortune once, but this is not my fortune cookie.
Since I didn't cook anything original last week (and I seriously do not have anything else better to write about), I thought I might offer up some recent fortune cookie fortunes I've received for this week's Food Fight Friday. At the risk of getting too philosophical, that is.
Along with those fortunes, I thought we might spend some time pondering a question I've stumbled upon in recent days. Why is it more kinds of foods don't get served with some form of fortune?
I'm okay with this. Having the dream come true is more important than timing. I just hope it doesn't come true in some kind of inconvenient moment, like when I'm late for an appointment, or in the bathroom.
I tried pumping the question into Google and all that did is bring up the history of fortune cookies, which, unsurprisingly, is not a Chinese thing at all. Go to China, you probably won't be served a fortune cookie afterward.
A Bit Of Fortune Cookie History
The fortune cookie as we know it was most likely popularized during the late 19th to early 20th century in two different places: A Japanese tea garden in San Fransisco, and a Chinese noodle company in Los Angeles. Both claimed to be the first. A 1983 court ruling went in favor of the former, but apparently the debate is ongoing.
They'd Rather Concentrate On Their Food?
So, why hasn't other kinds of foods picked up on the fortune cookie and fortune idea?
This is probably true, because I don't feel like I've been thriving much lately. I wonder what you're doing when you feel like you're fair to middling?
Instead, you might get an after dinner mint—apparently the restaurant is breath conscientious—or a small chocolate of some kind. But nothing imparting some friendly advice or trying to predict your future.
And why would this be something that would get popularized in America? What is it about Americans that lends itself to such a thing? (Or by extension, the Western World. Don't want to leave anyone out here.) And why Chinese food only?
Why don't fries come wrapped with some kind of saying, or even garlic bread sticks, or a slip of paper with a Mexican proverb sticking out of a burrito?
People love quotes. Many like memes. What would happen if your food from Taco Bell or Burger King came wrapped in some kind of famous quote from a long dead individual of some level of fame exhorting you to do your best, or offering you some sage advice, or something humorous?
Okay. So I'm really hoping this one comes through. I want to see what loud kindness looks like. I'm thinking ticker tape parade, maybe some balloons. A unicorn...
Maybe It's Not About The Fortune
Could it be the success and the absolute chokehold the fortune cookie fortune has on the after dinner words of wisdom industry has nothing to do with the words themselves, but rather, the cookie?
I guess not everyone likes the fortune cookie (which to me is unfathomable), but many people do eat them. In fact, they say they have to eat them in order for the fortune to come true, which I suppose could be a real sacrifice for those who really don't like the fortune cookie, but do want the fortune to happen.
I'm disappointed that I couldn't find an online survey or a Pew study on this subject. However, there is a silver lining in that lack of empirical evidence. It means I can draw whatever conclusions I want.
Here goes.
It is about the fortune cookie, not the fortune. The sayings are a nice curiosity, but most of us would get over the fact that there was no You're going to have a nice day tomorrow written on a small piece of paper—as long as we still got the cookie.
The reason why fortune cookies, or something similar, have not popped up with any other food, even though fortune cookies aren't necessarily Chinese, is because they're so readily identified with being Chinese, there's nowhere to go with it. There would have to be an entirely different kind of snack/dessert, and, whatever it was, would have to be cost effective to give away for free (or as is the actual case, absorbed in the cost of the meal).
Perhaps the most honest—and practical—fortune I have ever received.
That would mean, at the sit down Mexican restaurant (as opposed to Taco Bell or Taco Time), you would get some kind of saying along with—your chips and salsa! It could come in Spanish, so part of the fun would be learning a foreign language, and discovering just what your "fortune" said.
At Olive Garden, it would be with the bread sticks. At Red Lobster, the rolls. Maybe the basket they come in could have a wrapping paper with something other than the restaurant name written on them.
I truly think the applications are endless. Yet, you really don't see them anywhere else. Not from restaurants. You might get something on the back of your cereal box, or under the lid of the Yoplait. Bottle cap, maybe. Doritos bag. The exposition about whole earth living on the back of the alt, gluten free flour box.
But nothing with that awesome tasting order of Chipotle wings from Buffalo Wild Wings, or the all meat pizza you bought at Pizza Hut (instead of cheese, the fortune could be in the crust!).
A great missed opportunity to be sure. Or maybe not. Maybe we only like receiving and taking advice from Chinese food.
About This Post
This is a tongue-in-cheek look at a peculiar part of our culture. All discussion is welcome. Images taken by Glen Anthony Albrethsen with an Olympus E-3 DSLR camera.
As a kid we used to go to a fish and chips place every now and then, and their chips (soft fries) basket was lined with reprints of old newspaper clippings, of course we got chided when we would pull the paper out and start to read and laugh, they had a lot of funny cartoons sometimes.
Hey, @bashadow.
That sounds like fun (other than the chiding).
Now that you mention it, there are some places I've been to like that. They tend to be one restaurant or maybe a small local chain. The fact that you still remember it means it left some sort of lasting impression on you, and it sounds like it was a positive one.
I don't know. In the grand scheme of things, no big deal, but this is the kind of thing my mind goes to when it's allowed to wander. :)
I don't remember the name of the fish and chips place, but the fry baskets I do remember. Oh and vinegar instead of catsup for the fries. I still like vinegar, just not so much on fries any more, every now and then yes, but now when I want that taste it's just a bag of salt and vinegar potato chips. Maybe two or three times a year.
My Dachshunds would KILL for a bite of fortune cookie! So they love it when we eat out at the Chinese place!
My daughter collects these little tabs to put inside a glass coffee table her Husband built for her. It will be an interesting table when she is done!
I always have liked these better than the astrology stuff, they seem a lot more honest. They do kind of compete I guess. It is kind of like advice from some crazy Chinese Uncle, ROFLOL!
But I do Love the food! I even enjoy doing a little stir fry once in a while!
But this weekend it's 20 gallons of chilli plus all the fixins' for the homeless meal Maybe I should pass out some fortune tacos?
Be Blessed!
:)Fortune churros. That's what the people want. :)
re: daughter
I've seen people do that before. It should be quite interesting, I agree. You could spend quite a bit of time reading them and talking about them.
re: astrology
Well, they do actually compete, but the Chinese also have their own form of that, too, based on new year calendars and which of the animals you end up being. Supposed to predict your entire life. I somehow ended up as a horse. :)
re: the food
I do like Chinese food, but I definitely like Mexican and Italian more. Or at least, the version of Italian available here. I've had authentic Mexican food.
re: chili
That sounds like a lot of chili. Is it enough?
I'll look the Churros up, ROFLOL!
I will try to get a picture of the table after it is complete. :)
Astrology is trash, but I think I am under the sign of the horsed too!
I Live Chinese food! I also agree, Mexican and Italian food is excellent too; we also have a wonderful Greek place that is REALLY good at Greek food!
The Chili will be enough, because we will have a lot of other stuff (tostadas, baked potatoes, Nachos, Spanish Rice, and salad) I have seven kitchens cooking for this feed.
:).ha! yeah I wonder why someone doesn't start doing that, it would be very distinctive if they did!
I don't remember ever having a fortune cookie. Non of the Chinese takeaways I've ever visited here in the UK have ever handed the out. We often get a free bag of prawn crackers, but no fortune cookie. 😢
Hey, @sivehead.
Could it only be an American thing, then? I haven't been to Europe, and don't eat Chinese when I'm in Mexico, so I don't know if it even happens outside the U.S. Was guessing it must happen somewhere else.
Now, I've never heard of prawn crackers.
I guess they look something like this?
They look like potato chips made out of rice. :)
Yeap, you got it. That's them. We get a free bag every time we spend over 20£ which, with the size of our family, is very easy to do.
Okay, so there's a spending threshold that has to be met. Interesting. In my case, if I order enough food, they think it's for two people so they give me two fortune cookies. :)
As luck would have it, we'll be picking up some Chinese food tomorrow night. I've been made aware that we have a standing Halloween tradition: we eat out, which I knew, but it has to be Chinese. That was news to me. I'm pretty sure we've eaten other places over the years.
At any rate, I probably should ask if they have any prawn crackers and see what they say. :)
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This may be tongue and cheek to you, but I absolutely LOVE this idea! How interesting could every meal become? Nothing to talk about family, let's read out our fortunes, quotes, quippy little quips :) Maybe the world could become a bit more literate and have their noses less in their phones while eating too!
@dandays, I just feel like this is something you'd love too :)
Thanks Glen! I'm submitting this to c-squared. Perhaps it's the English teacher in me that loves this too!
Hey, @lynncoyle1.
Someone who read the About This Post section! Incredible! I feel like no one ever reads that, even if I do change it all the time.
re: tongue in cheek
You and a few others get my humor, but many others take me way too seriously when it comes to things like this, so I figured if they bothered to read to the end, they'd know for sure.
However, I do wonder why no other kind of food—ethnicity, nationality, however we should call this—has picked up on the fortune cookie. it might be too late now since everyone eats with their cell phones around the dinner table, but I think that world you described could have been in place before now.
I think it's a shame that people just don't read.
Instead of chips with the message, though, I'd rather see a churro. :)
Thanks for the submission. I seem to do pretty well with English teachers. :)
It is a shame more people don't read, but having said that, I'd rather have a churro too😀
And I do read entire posts! Imagine that?!
You are among a dying breed, I'm afraid. Some people don't get past the title of the post. Here you are, down to the end. I do admit that when posts get into redundant territory, where they've put the same thing up over and over again, then I tend to skip or fast forward through that.
However, I was trained on @themanwithnoname's different "this is not investment advice" humorized legalese (which I miss, by the way), so I tend to read more into the redundant stuff than I care too. In my case, it's there because I've simply got information about the post that I would rather not repeat over an over again, I figure out where to put in the flow of the post.
+1 for reading the lot.
I must admit not to reading every post in entirety though.
So a cookie at every meal to aid literacy, could work I guess :)
Cookies or something. It sounds like people aren't necessarily into cookies, but there are enough options from the various ethnic foods that I'm sure there could be something. The point is, literacy and engagement. Something to critically think about and craft sound arguments around. :)
It is a shame more people don't read, but having said that, I'd rather have a churro too😀
And I do read entire posts! Imagine that?!
“Guilty!”
I really think its the combo of cookie and fortune (wisdom or wishing well). You bring up an interesting point and have gave me some ideas :].
The last one i had said "you have friends and you know it" haha i thought that was funny.
My dads friend got one that told him to prepare for bad weather and i kid you not the very next day he was in a car accident & lost his job. Geezers
Great read, ty
Hey, @weirdheadaches.
In previous posts about the fortune cookie fortunes I've received, I've noted how they can eerily sum up or seem to refer to my situation in the moment. That doesn't always happen, but it happens enough to make me notice it. However, I've never had an experience where something happened so immediate. Most cases, I'm left wondering when or if any of this is going to happen. I, however, wouldn't wish any of that on anyone. I hope things have improved for your Dad's friend. :)
It could be. I think for those who like the cookie and fortune, it's a singular experience. You get to enjoy the cookie and determine whether or not the fortune you receive has any potential of coming true, or discuss the wisdom behind it. For those who don't like one or the other, I kind of think they're missing out, but to each their own.
Some ideas, eh? Well, okay. A little bit of mystery. :)
Yes its very peculiar and yet things like it happen all the time. For now mystery lol, very interesting concepts in the post.
Edit: and even more peculiar things like that happen all the time.
Haha… I love this. I’ve never put such thought into why other cultural cuisines don’t utilize the fortune cookie method of saying thank you. I remember being little and looking forward to having a Snapple so I could reveal the Snapple fun fact on the other side of the cap, but that wasn’t exactly a fortune or happy hearted quote. You broach an interesting question @glenalbrethsen. 🤔
On another note I also remember going to China town in San Francisco on a field trip and visiting a fortune cookie manufacturer. They made the cookies right there and sold us school children big bags of them for next to nothing. That was a fun day!
Happy food fight friend. Your contributions are always fun to read.
Hey, @puravidaville.
You're the second person who's been to a fortune cookie manufacturer in San Francisco. I feel like I'm missing out. :)
Well, there you go. The lid on a Snapple bottle. True, not really a fortune, but something to read. And you were excited for it.
This is what happens when I start pondering the universe and society as we know it. There's a literal dearth of Mexican/Italian/American, etc., fortune food out there. Fortune cookies are a huge industry. People still talk about them now. The next generation is introduced. Some might even like the fortune more than the actual cookie, or for that matter, the food.
What's funny about all of this is, when my sons were younger, when we went to the local Chinese restaurant, I had to keep them from ordering a burger or something so they would at least try the food. Now the oldest is married to a young woman whose parents came from China, and he gets Chinese food every time he's at their place.
Sometimes, I feel, father does know best. :)
And he probably gets way better Chinese food than you and I have ever eaten. Way to go Dad, encouraging him to try new things as a child may have led him inadvertently to his wife 👏👏. I bet you predicted it through a fortune cookie maybe.
The fortune cookie manufacturer was cool for a kid, I’m not sure how cool it would be for an adult. I remember lots of people everywhere. Now a days I try to avoid the big crowds like that but at least in this crowd they give you a cookie 🤷🏼♀️
Enjoy your weekend @glenalbrethsen! Cheers :)
nah. I never did predict with a fortune cookie. He dated all throughout high school, but no one for longer than a year, and so I didn't know where he was going with any of that, and frankly, neither did he.
But then he got his priorities straight, and decided he'd better go for it. Fortunately, his wife said yes. :)
mostly, I felt like I needed to keep them alive and out of trouble. If I could accomplish those two things, the rest would be gravy. They're alive and neither have been in jail, so I'm feeling good about myself. Now it's time to enjoy life as a grandfather. :)
Ahhhh, congratulations grandpa! I hear it’s even better than being a Dad. All of the good and none to very little of the bad. Way to keep em alive alive and out of trouble. Sounds like a success to me.
Happy Friday @glenalbrethsen. I liked all of your personal little opinions directly under the fortune cookies. My favorite one for sure:
That’s funny!
Hey, @dandays.
I've had more serious discussions about my fortune cookie fortunes in the past, and people didn't seem to appreciate my musings so much. Why are you paying attention to the fortunes? They can't tell the future!
Okay, I know. I'm just finding it really strange that I managed to get the one that has something to do with what I'm thinking about. And then of course, there's the deciphering the message. What is it actually telling me? Is it actually promising me something, or is it actually saying something else?
This time, around, I thought I'd just throw a bunch up there and come up with something amusing. Glad you liked it.
I still like a fortune with my food, though. Buy a kiwi. Get a fortune. :)
I am one of those unfathomable people that doesn't like fortune cookies - I do like the fortunes though. You have to eat the cookie for the fortune to work? Nope, I refuse to believe it ;)
I love the idea of the fortunes because it drops a wide open statement into your head and allows you to sort through your problems by wrapping them around it. Like a miniature therapy session. They are brilliant. If only more foods did come with them.
I make fortune rolls on new years eve with a mixture of humorous and profound fortunes - a little bit of party philosophy.
Hey, @ginnyannette.
re: fortune rolls
How did that go? Did people think it was fun?
I agree. I think the fortunes do stimulate ideas and thought, and make us think about things in a generally focused and more positive light. Or, they can actually help us to realize things are okay, too.
I just wonder how popular they would be if there wasn't a cookie attached. For those who like the cookies, that is. :)
re: unfathomable.
I think I just need to arrange to eat the cookies of those who don't want to. That way, I get the cookies, and you and other people who don't want them can keep the fortunes. Win-win! :)
re: to come true
I saw that on a couple of message boards talking about fortune cookies. There was plenty of disagreement, believe me. :) As it is, I'm not sure how any of it could be proved either way. Doesn't seem to be any studies following people's fortunes. :)
The fortune rolls were a lot of fun because it was a mixed bag as to who got the ridiculous one and who got to debate their life's future. And they were bread instead of fortune cookie, which I gobbled right up :)
I think all the fortunes come true, because we read it, unconsciously absorb it, and manifest it on some level, whether or not we realize it. But that's just the crazy theory of someone that doesn't eat the cookie part. :)