What wisdom can a cookie bring?
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Can Cookie Proverbs and Sayings Change Your Life?

We are often drawn to a peek at the future, whether fueled by fact or fantasy, proverbs or sayings, instinct or reason.

We shake the Magic 8 Ball to answer our important YES/NO questions and get answers such as “Signs point to yes,” “Outlook not so good,” or the annoyingly evasive “Reply hazy. Try again later.” (Was this a forerunner to sassy Siri?)

We sit in silence between worlds with our Ouija board and call on the spirits to guide us. We have our palms read or consult our horoscopes.

Many ways to glimpse the future
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We study the colorful tarot cards for a glimpse of meaning about the past, present, and future, with messages from The High Priestess, The Hermit, The Magician, or The Wheel of Fortune.

Perhaps the most common oracle in the U.S. comes in the form of a cookie—the fortune cookie that arrives at the end of a meal at American Chinese restaurants or with every order of Chinese takeout.

We crack open the folded cookie and pause for a moment, wondering how the words on that tiny piece of paper might have meaning in our life. Or are they just a nice way to end a Chinese meal?

Is our personal fortune likely to find us?
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The Words of Fortune

The tweet-like messages range from poetic to practical, from vague enough to be true for anyone to specifics that can seem eerily prophetic.

The language of the fortune cookie is intended to be universal—inspirational proverbs and sayings, thought-provoking riddles, humorous comments on contemporary culture, and translations of traditional Chinese philosophy.

Universal inspiration
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The writing strategy at Wonton Food, the largest producer of fortune cookies in the U.S., sheds some light and provides some “Oh, I see” moments about the fine art of fortune writing.

The company ships nearly 5 million cookies a day to Chinese restaurants all over the U.S. They have a simple goal. They want people to finish their meal with a positive message.

A philosophy for any culture
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Donald Lau, the sole Wonton Food fortune writer for decades has passed the pen to a new writer. But his philosophy is still at the heart of the messages.

“When they eat their fortune cookie, I want the customers to open the fortune, read it, maybe laugh, and leave the restaurant happy,” Mr. Lau says, “So that they come back again next week.”

The company has experimented with more “cautious” messages—reflecting the ups and downs of real life— but feedback from customers sent them back to more positive messages.

Who wants this real-life fortune?
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Messages like “There may be a crisis looming—be ready for it,” “Your luck is just not there— attend to practical matters today,” and “It’s over your head now. Time to get some professional help” were a bit of a downer.

The company also retired the iconic “You will meet a tall, dark stranger” as it sounded a bit too ominous.

Now, the fortunes are more philosophical than predictive. Some messages include a Chinese language lesson (an easy way to expand your Chinese vocabulary), as well as a string of lucky numbers.

Motivational guidance
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The lucky number sequence can be used in many ways—most often for lotteries or gambling investments.

Wonton Food still remembers providing winning Powerball numbers in one random fortune number sequence in 2005. The 110 winners who shared $19 million in prize money had all heeded the lucky numbers of their Wonton Food fortunes. They will long remember that happy ending to a Chinese meal.

Sometimes we wish for this kind of good fortune.
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Fortune Cookie History

The origins of the fortune cookie are murky. Some say the original idea came from China during the Ming Dynasty, when warriors delivered secret strategies inside tea cakes. Others trace the roots to Japan where rice cakes with fortunes inside (called tsujiura senbei) were sold near shrines.

Most everyone agrees that Chinese and Japanese immigrants to the U.S. in the early 1900s brought the idea to America and popularized the concept at Chinese restaurants.

One theory is that Makoto Hagiwara, with the San Francisco Japanese Tea Garden, created the cookies in 1907. Another theory gives credit to David Jung, who distributed the cookies from his noodle company in Los Angeles in 1916.

Sometimes there is just no answer.
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Whichever the origin, fortune cookies gained popularity in the U.S. after WW II and became a staple at Chinese restaurants throughout the country.

And, while you will occasionally spot fortune cookies in the U.K. and Europe, they are a decidedly American phenomenon . . . and, ironically, still rare in China.

If at first you don’t succeed, keep searching for that perfect fortune.
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Lasting Memories from One Smart Cookie

Most of us have had a fortune cookie saying that stays with us. Either we carry it in our wallet because it was so inspirational or we remember the cookie moment and the people with whom we shared the special fortune.

Here are some of my favorites:

• The fortune you seek is in another cookie.
• If you look back, you’ll soon be going that way.
• Do not mistake temptation for opportunity.
• If a turtle doesn’t have a shell, is it naked or homeless?
• Don’t let statistics do a number on you.
• You will be hungry again in one hour.
• That wasn’t chicken.
• Actions speak louder than fortune cookies.
• Patience will find you this week. Wait for it.
• Why not treat yourself to a good time instead of waiting for someone else to do it?
• Ask not what your fortune cookie can do for you but what you can do for your fortune cookie.
• Confucius say: If you think we’re going to sum up your whole life on this little bit of paper, you’re crazy.

Perhaps the best of all the proverbs and sayings is found in Iris Smyles’ New Yorker list of creative fortune cookie messages:

One day you will think to yourself, If only I could meet someone who understands me as well as this fortune cookie does.

Don’t worry. All signs point to YES.

Good luck!
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Thank you to the New York Times article by Jennifer 8. Lee, to the Time Magazine article by Olivia B. Waxman, and to the New Yorker article by Iris Smyles. For more information on the making of fortune cookies, visit the Wonton Food website.

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