You're fortunate ...

Whenever I eat at a Chinese restaurant (or order a take-out) here in Germany, a fortune cookie comes with the meal. It is always fun to break it open to read the message. Some cookies are too hard to bite into and if I defied common sense, then I am just another fool contributing to my dentist's next vacation.

Did you know that fortune cookies originated from California? That's right - in the good old U.S. of A. However, no one knows who the actual inventor was and which city in California is the true home of the fortune cookie. It is still being debated. (Don't people have other things to do?)

According to one history, David Jung, a Chinese immigrant living in Los Angeles and founder of the Hong Kong Noodle Company, invented the cookie in 1918. He was concerned about the poor meandering around his shop. He created the cookie and passed them out free on the streets. He stuffed each cookie with a strip of paper with an inspirational Bible scripture on it, written for him by a Presbyterian minister.

Another history asserts that the fortune cookie was invented in San Francisco by a Japanese immigrant named Makoto Hagiwara. He was a gardener who designed the famous Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park. Around the turn of the century, an anti-Japanese mayor fired him from his job. He was later reinstated by a new mayor. In appreciation for those who stood by him during his period of hardship, Hagiwara created a cookie in 1914 that included a thank you note inside. He passed them out at the Garden and began serving them there regularly.

Fortune cookies became common in Chinese restaurants after World War II. Since desserts were not traditionally part of Chinese cuisine, the cookies offered Americans something familiar with an exotic flair.

Some individuals actually like the texture and flavor of fortune cookies (I won't mind it if they were a little crispier) but many consider the fortune to be the essence of the cookie.

In the early days, fortunes featured Biblical sayings, or aphorisms from Confucius, Aesop, or Ben Franklin. Later, they began to recommend lottery numbers. Smiley faces, jokes and banal advice were also added as messages. Politicians have used them in campaigns (will we see this in the next elections?). Today, fortune cookies are customised for weddings and birthday parties too.

When I get a fortune cookie, I can't wait to break it open for a prediction because no matter what message I get, it amuses me (you will know why when you read right to the end).

Here are some samples of messages we can get in fortune cookies these days.

A secret admirer will soon send you a sign of affection.

If you continually give, you will continually have.

Your heart will always make itself known through your words.

Love is like wildflowers...it is often found in the most unlikely places.

Something you lost will soon turn up.

A pleasant surprise is in store for you.

You will be invited to an exciting event.

Flattery will go far tonight.

You can always find happiness at work on Friday.

The greatest danger could be your stupidity.

You should be able to undertake and complete anything.

The first step to better times is to imagine them.

The skills you have gathered will one day come in handy.

Someone told me that a fortune cookie message is more fun to read when the words "in bed" are added to the end of the sentence. I have never been able to go back since that revelation. Go ahead, try it with the ones above.

Did not have enough? For more samples, go here.
Read more about fortune cookies here.