The above (hilarious) video has nothing to do with Missouri (unless you count Springfield’s claim to American-Chinese food fame, cashew chicken). Still, contemplating why we eat weird little cookies after meals at Chinese restaurants – when the Chinese themselves seem more shocked to find paper in the middle than if they cracked it and a bird flew out* – would be a welcome bit of introspection.
From the writer who penned a story on fortune cookies in China for the NY Times:
Americans find high emotional attachment to the slips inside their cookies, looking to them for winning lottery numbers and becoming upset when the fortunes inside are unfortunate. The Chinese, on the other hand, would often tell me after trying the curved vanilla-flavored wafers, “Americans are so strange, why are they putting pieces of paper in their cookies?”
* Whew, finally worked in an Airplane! reference.
