I never understood fortune cookies. Were they really part of a tradition? Were they intentionally grammatically incorrect and vague to be mysterious? What were those cookies even made of?
According to Wikipedia, “Fortune cookies are often served as a dessert in Chinese restaurants in the United States and some other countries, but are absent in China. The exact origin of fortune cookies is unclear, though various immigrant groups in California claim to have popularized them in the early 20th century, basing their recipe on a traditional Japanese cracker. ”
So a Japanese tradition got borrowed by the Chinese then brought to America but never actually managed to make it to China. The more you know. Here’s another bit of trivia, ” In 1989, fortune cookies were reportedly imported into Hong Kong and sold as ‘genuine American fortune cookies.’ Wonton Food attempted to expand its fortune cookie business into China in 1992, but gave up after fortune cookies were considered ‘too American.” In China they were American fortune cookies! It’s like when when Americans started getting those Chinese letter tattoos and pondered if the Chinese put English characters on clothing and tattoos.
Check out 15 WTF fortune cookies that literally make no sense.