{{Otheruses4|1=the cookie associated with Chinese-American restaurants|2=the 1967 film|3=The Fortune Cookie}}

[[Image:fortune_cookie_20040628_223108_1.jpg|thumb|right|200px|A fortune cookie]]
[[Image:fortune_cookie_broken_20040628_223252_1.jpg|thumb|right|200px|An open fortune cookie]]
[[Image:Canned butcher.gif|thumb|right|200px|A typical fortune with lucky numbers and a Chinese lesson which is actually nonsense. See the image's page for detailed explanations]]
[[Image:Cookies_factory.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Hot fortune cookies being folded around paper fortunes.]]

The '''Fortune Cookie''' is a thin, crisp [[cookie]] baked around a piece of paper with words of [[faux]] [[wisdom]] or vague [[prophecy]], usually served with [[Chinese food]] as a [[dessert]]. The message inside may also include a list of lucky numbers (used by some as [[lottery]] numbers) and a [[Chinese language|Chinese]] phrase with translation. Despite the conventional wisdom, they were actually invented in [[California]], [[United States|USA]], not [[China]].

== Origin ==
[[San Francisco, California|San Francisco]] and [[Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles]] both lay claim to the origin of the fortune cookie.  [[Makoto Hagiwara]] of [[Golden Gate Park]]'s [[Japanese tea garden at Golden Gate Park|Japanese Tea Garden]] in San Francisco is said to have invented the cookie in 1909,<ref name="Martin_2004_8">{{Harv|Martin|2004}}.</ref> while David Jung, founder of the Hong Kong Noodle Company in Los Angeles, is said to have invented them in 1918.<ref name="Brunner_2005_5">{{Harv|Brunner|2005}}.</ref>

San Francisco's [[Court of Historical Review]] ruled in 1983 in favor of San Francisco. Although the court was presided over by a Federal judge, the court itself has been criticized as being less than serious and biased in favor of San Francisco.  Its conclusions, therefore, might not be the final word on the subject.<ref name="Brunner_2005_5"/>

== Fortune cookie software ==
A number of [[web page]]s now include fortune cookie-like words of wisdom or other quotes.  The [[Unix]] program [[fortune (program)|fortune]] is sometimes used to generate these messages.  There are software applications that will append a "fortune cookie" within a user's e-mail [[Signature block|signature tag]]; that is, a random quote, item of trivia, joke, or maxim printed at the bottom of the sender's e-mail message.  There are many different fortune cookie databases in public distribution, and some users will often assemble their own lists from various sources.

== Fortune cookie payout ==
The U.S. [[Powerball]] lottery drawing of the [[March 30]], [[2005]] game produced an unprecedented 110 second-place winners, all of whom picked five numbers correctly with no powerball number.  The total came out to $19.4 million in unexpected payouts.  89 tickets won $100,000, but 21 additional tickets won $500,000 due to the Power Play multiplier option.<ref name=WPost>Garcia, Michelle. [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/11/AR2005051101772.html "Fortune Cookie Has Got Their Numbers"], ''The Washington Post'', 12 May 2005.</ref>

Powerball officials initially suspected fraud, but it turned out that all the winners received their numbers from fortune cookies made by [http://www.wontonfood.com/ Wonton Food Inc.], a fortune cookie factory in [[Long Island City, Queens, New York|Long Island City]], [[Queens, New York|Queens]], [[New York]].  Apparently, number combinations printed on fortunes are reused in thousands of cookies per day.  The five winning numbers were 22, 28, 32, 33, and 39.  The sixth number in the fortune, 40, did not match the powerball number, 42.<ref name=WPost />

== In popular culture==
The non-Chinese origin of the fortune cookie is humorously illustrated in [[Amy Tan]]'s novel ''[[The Joy Luck Club]]'', in which a pair of Chinese immigrant women find jobs at a fortune cookie factory in America.  They are amused by the unfamiliar concept of a fortune cookie but, after several hilarious attempts at translating the fortunes into Chinese, come to the conclusion that the cookies contain not wisdom, but "bad instruction".

There is a common joke involving fortune cookies that involves appending "in bed", "with a battle axe" or "between the sheets" to the end of the fortune, usually creating a sexual innuendo or other bizarre messages (e.g., "Every exit is an entrance to new experiences [in bed]" or "You will solve your greatest problem [with a battle axe]").{{fact}}

Although many people do not take the message in a fortune cookie as a serious [[oracle|oracular device]], many of them consider it part of the game that the entire cookie must be consumed in order for the fortune to come true.<ref name="Parvin_1995">{{Harv|Parvin|1995}}.</ref>  Variations on this idea include not eating the cookie if a fortune seems unlucky, or the idea that the entire cookie must be eaten before the fortune is read. Some people believe the fortune will not come true if it is read aloud. Additionally, the fortune is said to come true if one uses the six "lucky numbers" on the back of the fortune to play, and win, a game of [[Krypto (game)|Krypto]].

==References==
* {{Harvard reference
 | Surname1    = Martin
 | Given1      = James
 | Year        = 2004
 | Title       = Fortune Cookies: A San Francisco Invention
 | Journal     = About.com
 | URL         = http://sanfrancisco.about.com/cs/daytrips/a/fortunecook.htm
 | Access-date = [[August 11]], [[2004]]
}}.
* {{Harvard reference
 | Surname1    = Brunner
 | Given1      = Borgna
 | Year        = 2005
 | Title       = The History of the Fortune Cookie
 | Journal     = Infoplease
 | URL         = http://www.infoplease.com/spot/fortunecookies.html
 | Access-date = [[May 10]], [[2005]]
}}.
* {{Harvard reference
 | Surname1    = Parvin 
 | Given1      = Ellie
 | Year        = 1995
 | Title       = Fortune cookie US invention
 | Journal     = Golden Gater
 | URL         = http://www.journalism.sfsu.edu/www/pubs/gater/spring95/jan31/fort.htm 
 | Access-date = [[May 24]], [[2006]]
}}.

==Notes==
<references/>

==External links==
* [http://www.sanfranciscochinatown.com/culture/fortunecookie.html Fortune Cookies] - History of Fortune Cookies
* [http://www.sanfranciscochinatown.com/attractions/ggfortunecookie.html Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory] - Fortune Cookie factory in San Francisco's Chinatown
* [http://fortune.rleeden.no-ip.com/ Random Fortune Cookies] - A random fortune cookie generator from a collection of over 150,000 cookies.
* [http://www.weirdfortunecookies.com/ WeirdFortuneCookies.com] - A collection of odd and nonsensical fortunes from real cookies. 
* [http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/11/nyregion/11fortune.html?ex=1270785600&en=37bef79604f97228&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland Who Needs Giacomo? Bet on the Fortune Cookie] by [[Jennifer 8. Lee]]
* [http://www.newyorker.com/printables/talk/050606ta_talk_olshan Cookie Master] - Article detailing the job of a cookie fortunes writer
* [http://www.backgroundsarchive.com/fortune.php 10969 fortune cookies] - extensive list of fortune cookies
* [http://dir.yahoo.com/Business_and_Economy/Shopping_and_Services/Food_and_Drink/Baked_Goods/Cookies/Brand_Names/Fortune_Cookies/ Yahoo! directory listing of custom and unusual fortune cookie businesses]
* [http://www.jrn.columbia.edu/studentwork/cns/2002-04-03/320.asp The secret history of fortune cookies], jrn.columbia.edu
* [http://www.factmonster.com/spot/fortunecookies.html History of the Fortune Cookie], factmonster.com

[[Category:Cookies]]
[[Category:American Chinese cuisine]]

[[de:Glückskeks]]
[[es:Galleta de Fortuna China]]
[[fr:Fortune cookie]]
[[he:עוגיית מזל]]
[[la:Crustulum Fortunae]]
[[ms:Biskut keberuntungan]]
[[ja:フォーチュン・クッキー]]
[[ta:அதிஸ்ட குக்கி]]