# Cursed by a fortune cookie! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 4, 2001, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cursed-by-a-fortune-cookie/64320 "2001-05-04T05:14:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![zyzzyva](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@zyzzyva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zyzzyva)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2001, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cursed-by-a-fortune-cookie/64320/1 "2001-05-04T05:14:45Z")
“You will always live in interesting times.” Sure, it sounds like a good thing, but as anyone who knows much of anything about Chinese history/culture knows, this is about the equivalent of saying, “May your grandchildren fornicate upon your coffin.” I’m not quite sure what to make of this. Was it put in there by an unknowing Westerner who thought it was a compliment? Or was it a practical joke: “let’s give this one to the roundeyes here and make him think it’s a good fortune”? ---
**Author:** ![Mercutio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/51bf81/32.png) [@Mercutio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mercutio)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2001, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cursed-by-a-fortune-cookie/64320/2 "2001-05-04T05:17:00Z")
Damn, once **zyzz** dies it’s all downhill. ---
**Author:** ![Nicklz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/8baadc/32.png) [@Nicklz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nicklz)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2001, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cursed-by-a-fortune-cookie/64320/3 "2001-05-04T07:32:30Z")
Thats nothing I once got a fortune cockie that said “May you make great buisness decisions with people who have enough money for bail” Can you imagine my shock after excepting to get the normal may you live a hppy life kinda fortune. I still have that too I keep it just because I think it’s funny ---
**Author:** ![Nicklz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/8baadc/32.png) [@Nicklz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nicklz)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2001, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cursed-by-a-fortune-cookie/64320/4 "2001-05-04T07:35:55Z")
I think I’ll go into buisness making those kinds of fortune cookies maybe stuff that says: “They know what you’ve done” or “Be careful your life may be endanger” or “Your home will be robbed” or “Did you remember to turn the iron off this morning” You know something like that ---
**Author:** ![dwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwyr/32/363_2.png) [@dwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwyr)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2001, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cursed-by-a-fortune-cookie/64320/5 "2001-05-04T07:49:33Z")
My brother once got a fortune that said, and I’m serious here-I saw it, “You will die soon”. Fortunately it turned out to be a bogus prediction (:)) but we wondered where the hell it came from. Someone at the fortune cookie factory get a little ticked off? ---
**Author:** ![kferr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/71e660/32.png) [@kferr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kferr)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2001, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cursed-by-a-fortune-cookie/64320/6 "2001-05-04T11:10:56Z")
I like the one I saw in some advertisement: “That wasn’t chicken” ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2001, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cursed-by-a-fortune-cookie/64320/7 "2001-05-04T12:32:32Z")
Well, my mom took me out for my birthday one time and we got into exchanging some (good natured) insults. At the dessert, my fortune read “The person you are with will not pay for your dinner.”