# Lucky numbers on fortune cookies-how long are they "lucky"? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 3, 2015, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lucky-numbers-on-fortune-cookies-how-long-are-they-lucky/721559 "2015-06-03T18:42:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pudytat72](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@pudytat72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pudytat72)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2015, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lucky-numbers-on-fortune-cookies-how-long-are-they-lucky/721559/1 "2015-06-03T18:42:14Z")
Do you consider their luck to be only for the day you open the fortune cooky? Or are they lucky as long as you have the fortune? Anyone gotten lucky with their numbers? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2015, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lucky-numbers-on-fortune-cookies-how-long-are-they-lucky/721559/2 "2015-06-03T18:55:51Z")
I’m sure they’ll be just as lucky a million years from now as they are today. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2015, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lucky-numbers-on-fortune-cookies-how-long-are-they-lucky/721559/3 "2015-06-03T20:11:09Z")
They’re lucky for about the time it takes to read them. Actually, less. ---
**Author:** ![August\_West](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/august_west/32/18069_2.png) [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2015, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lucky-numbers-on-fortune-cookies-how-long-are-they-lucky/721559/4 "2015-06-03T20:18:13Z")
I’m pretty sure that there was a study in the _Duke Mathematical Journal_ that proved conclusively that they are lucky until you crack your next fortune cookie. On second thought, that might have been in the _Annals of Unseen University._ ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2015, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lucky-numbers-on-fortune-cookies-how-long-are-they-lucky/721559/5 "2015-06-03T20:42:50Z")
Until you’re hungry again, of course. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2015, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lucky-numbers-on-fortune-cookies-how-long-are-they-lucky/721559/6 "2015-06-04T02:22:45Z")
Poor Puddy Tat fall down? ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2015, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lucky-numbers-on-fortune-cookies-how-long-are-they-lucky/721559/7 "2015-06-04T04:15:31Z")
They’re only lucky until you get out of bed. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2015, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lucky-numbers-on-fortune-cookies-how-long-are-they-lucky/721559/8 "2015-06-04T17:44:12Z")
Like the food, they are only effective for about an hour. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2015, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lucky-numbers-on-fortune-cookies-how-long-are-they-lucky/721559/9 "2015-06-04T17:50:24Z")
James, I give you very best luck. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2015, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lucky-numbers-on-fortune-cookies-how-long-are-they-lucky/721559/10 "2015-06-04T19:57:55Z")
Actually they are completely lucky the day the strips are printed. By the time you get the cookie & open it, the luck has long since gone completely stale. Which is why you don’t see those numbers helping very often. But OTOH, there’s always this: [Did Winning Lottery Numbers Come from a Fortune Cookie? | Snopes.com](http://www.snopes.com/luck/cookie.asp) Here’s the rest of the story on those fortunate cookies … I read this in another article back when it happened: Every morning the cookie company employees would draw numbers out of a hat to determine today’s set of lucky numbers. Then every slip printed that day and stuffed into every cookie baked that day would have those numbers. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2015, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lucky-numbers-on-fortune-cookies-how-long-are-they-lucky/721559/11 "2015-06-04T22:04:21Z")
Look for luck stains on the inside of the cookie. If you don’t see any, then the luck didn’t leak out and you are okay. If you see some other kind of stain don’t eat the cookie. In other words, look for luck leaks, then lick.