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Feel American, Have A Fortune CookieBy Dan Hanlon QuailBellMagazine.com America is home to the apple pie, the Fourth of July, and fortune cookies. Yeah, you read that right. When thinking of fortune cookies most people would think of China, but in fact, America is where they were invented and the only place where they are popular. There is much debate as to exactly who introduced the fortune cookie to The United States, but it seems like everyone wants to claim the cookie that very few people eat as their own. The Chinese want to claim they invented the cookie but so do the Japanese, much like San Francisco wants to claim that it’s the birthplace of the cookie but so does Los Angeles. We may never know the true story of the fortune cookies’ origins, but take solace in the fact that heated debates about cookies are fun. If you want to join in on the greatest debate about cookies since “What’s the greatest Girl Scout cookie?” you have to know the two differing stories of how the fortune cookie came to America. Story number one is that a Chinese immigrant and founder of the Hong Kong Noodle Company named David Chung invented the cookie in 1918. After becoming concerned about poor people in his area, Chung made his cookies filled with inspirational messages and passed them out to poor people walking by his shop in Los Angeles. The second story is that a Japanese immigrant living in San Francisco named Makoto Hagiwara invented the fortune cookie. An anti-Japanese mayor fired Hagiwara from his gardening job at the famous Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park. He was later reinstated by a different mayor, which led him to invent the cookie as a thanks. In 1914 Hagiwara filled the cookies with thank you notes and passed them out to the people that stood by him after his firing. No matter whom you believe invented the fortune cookie or where they invented it, it’s a fact that the cookies soon became very popular. Chinese and Japanese cultures didn’t often feature desserts, so the cookie became a way for Americans to have something sweet to end their foreign meal with. Fortune cookies were originally popular in Japanese restaurants, but they became more popular in Chinese restaurants during World War II. One explanation for this is that when Japanese Americans were forced into internment camps it allowed Chinese Americans to take over the making of fortune cookies. As Chinese food became more popular, the fortune cookie became synonymous with the Chinese. So not only did we force the Japanese to live in internment camps but we also sat by and allowed the Chinese to steal the recipe and take all of the credit. Or so the Japanese would have us believe, it all comes back to that debate of who invented it. Up until the 1960s, fortune cookies were made by hand using chopsticks. That labor came to an end when Edward Louie of Lotus Fortune Cookie Company created a machine that folds the dough and inserts the fortune into the cookie that millions of Americans will receive after eating too much Chinese food. Even more recently, fortune cookies became customizable. People can now go online to write whatever they want the fortune to say so they can give it as a gift, or choose from absurd flavors like grape fortune cookies, or even a chocolate dipped and sprinkled fortune cookie. Maybe it’s just me, but I’ll stick to taking one bite of the regular cookie and moving on to reading the un-customizable fortune that was inside. To those people debating the fortune cookies’ beginnings, the cookie is a mystery wrapped in an enigma, but to most it’s just a piece of paper wrapped in a cookie. Of the 3 billion fortune cookies produced each year, the majority is consumed in America. Most of its consumers don’t even know that the cookie is made in America by companies like Wonton Food in Brooklyn, New York or Peking Noodle in Los Angeles, California. So this July 4th, eat a fortune cookie in celebration of its American history and the fact that you know about it. The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
Relish those fireworks.When you watch those fireworks tonight, Quail Bell(s), keep in mind the words of one of our favorite feminists--Eleanor Roosevelt. She said, "The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience." Need another wordy bird's sage advice? Take Emily Dickinson's thought: "Forever is composed of nows."
Maybe you return to campus in a month. Maybe your lease expires soon. Maybe you're gearing up for a big trip or a new job. Whatever the case, remember that you will never be here in the same place, exactly as you are, again. We know we're a nostalgic bunch, but because of our fondness for the otherworldly, we find ourselves mentally positioned in the future--even the far future--perhaps more often than we should. Appreciate what's in your nest today. Count those eggs and count those blessings. Happy July 4th, fledglings! Feathery hugs, The QB Crew The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
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Our Latest Photo Tale InspirationMaggie Mayhem is a real girl living in Richmond, Virginia--but you can't have her. She's all ours. Maggie stars in our latest Photo Tale, "Art School Hooky." Check it out soon on The Unreal.
Feathery hugs, The QB Crew The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
Guide to Freyja By Claire LeDoyen QuailBellMagazine.com Evolved from age-old “Earth mother” figure
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Remembering I Love Lucy By Christine Stoddard QuailBellMagazine.com Who remembers that Lucille Ball was gorgeous? She was a beaming redhead with bright blue peepers and full lips. She could've had a career simply as another pretty lady, whether a model or minor actress. Instead she went with her mind, her imagination, and, of course, her knack for comedy. And for that choice, we Quail Bell(e)s will always appreciate her brilliance and feminism.
Even as a little girl, I recognized the star of “I Love Lucy” for her brains, not her looks. The way she dodged Ricky's sexist rules and lectures never failed to impress and amuse me. I couldn't have understood male-female social dynamics as a young child, but I knew cat-and-mouse when I saw it played well. Lucy reminded me that even if I one day grew up to be a housewife, I could still think for myself and make my own choices. It didn't matter if it was 1956 or 2056. On August 6, 2012, Lucille Ball would have been 101 years old. Instead, she died on April 25, 1989 at the age of 77. The fatal culprit was a dissecting aortic aneurysm—a heart problem. Now her ashes lie in Lake View Cemetery in Jamestown, New York. As the summer heats up literally and politically, one has to wonder, What would Lucy do? Give us a sign, Ms. Ball. The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
Blackout!!!So in case you hadn't heard, QB headquarters experienced a loss of power this weekend. (Thanks, storm.) We're playing catch-up as of now, but please check back regularly for updates.
Feathery hugs, The QB Crew |
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