Ridiculously specific fortune cookie message

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

I like Chinese food and I eat it fairly often. I would guess that I have eaten takeout Chinese once a month, on average, since I graduated from college back in 1987. You always get fortune cookies with your food. Usually the fortune is something general, like “You will depart on a journey”, or “You make others comfortable”. You know, nothing too specific because the fortune cookie fortune writers want their output to appeal to largest possible number of people. Recently, though, I got the following fortune:

“You could prosper in the field of medical research”

Now I might have thought this was odd because it was so specific.

I might have thought this was odd because I do, indeed, work in medical research.

But the real reason I thought it was odd was because it was the THIRD TIME I GOT THIS EXACT SAME FORTUNE!

Yep, three times, over 12-15 years, different restaurants. I don’t remember getting any other fortune more than once, although they are usually much more generic so maybe I wouldn’t remember, and I have never heard of anyone else getting this one even once. Yet I now have two of the three copies taped up over my desk at work. The third copy I had taped to the door of the lab at the biotech company where I work where it stayed for years until someone took it down.

The only thing of note is that I got all three at restaurants in the Greater Boston Area, where a fair number of people are in the medical field. The last one was pretty far out in the 'burbs, though (Chelmsford, if that means anything to you). There are probably more computer programmers and engineers out there than any other occupation, so if someone were going to try to “spike” the fortune cookie messages to make them more relevant to their customers that wouldn’t be the first thing that would spring to mind.

Has anyone else ever gotten this fortune? Has anyone gotten one that mentioned some other field or area so specifically: “There are great oppurtunities in computer networking”, or something? And have they gotten it three times?

2

This is sorta along the same lines, I think-- back when I was trying to decide whether or not to apply to journalism school (finished last May, so this was a few years ago), I got a fortune that said, “Start writing and the answers will come.”

I thought it was pretty cool, taped it to the cabinet door in the kitchen. It’s faded, but I still have it.

3

I kept one that says “Your destiny is lucky, for you are the Chosen One.” Do they slip ones like that in from time to time to mess with manic folks, or what?

4

Well, kind of off topic, but I have learned that any cookie fortune is better if it is followed with the phrase, “in bed.”

“You will meet a new friend next week” - in bed.

“Many people respect you” - in bed.

YMMV

5

I always read it as “between the sheets.”

You will have sucess in everything you put your hands too – between the sheets.

There ain’t nothing truer than the truth!

6

Mine was somewhat similar, different field, though…

Back in high school, I was on the mock trial team. One weekend we went to a workshop at a law school in Des Moines. We went to a Chinese place for lunch and my fortune read, “you would make a good lawyer.” Blew my mind. I went on to score very well on my pretend lawyering, too. :slight_smile:

7

You would make a good lawyer in bed? What’s that supposed to mean? :slight_smile:

8

I object! :wink:

-Dirty

9

Meh. You guys are lucky. Mine are always drivel like “you are an exceedingly sensitive person” or “beauty comes from within” or “the way to happiness is compassion.” Once, just once, I would like something along the lines of “The keys are behind your two foot stack of videos.”

::goes to hit up St. Anthony again::

10

In August, right after I won $1,100 in Vegas, I ate at a Chinese place in the casino. The obligatory fortune cookie yielded the message: “Honour is much dearer than money.” (Canadian spelling theirs–in fact, there’s a Toronto phone number on the fortune.) I tipped the waiter $20–an honourable thing to do I thought.

We now leave the normal course of life, and enter the Twilight Zone…

The next day, I went back to the casino and used my comp to the buffet. There was a pile of fortune cookies next to the Chinese part of the buffet, and I impulsively took one. To my surprise, I got the same fortune–but the real Serling moment came when I saw the back of the slip of paper. Someone had written, in blue pen, “www.yesturdayland.com.” Yes, it really was there when I opened the fortune cookie. I knew people handled the fortunes somehow before they got in the cookies, but…

Don’t try the address: it doesn’t work. I think whoever wrote it meant www.yesterdayland.com. When I was trying the link myself, I had this vision that there would be a picture of a mysterious, alluring woman with whom I would have a chance encounter in the near-future. But no, it’s just a cheesy pop-culture site. :frowning:

11

The best one I’ve gotten, which was fairly specific, said, “You will soon move to Hollywood and live among the movie stars.”

I also liked the utterly cryptic “Confucius say: Angel with wings not so hot as angel with arms.” What the hell?

And as far as the “in bed” thing (which I’ve heard before) goes, my favorite is, “You will attend a party where strange customs prevail.” In bed.

12

The most specific fortune cookie I ever got said
Thank goodness its Friday.

It was a Thursday.

13

Some fortunes are actually true!!! I opened my cookie, and… Vwa-La!!! the fortune said,

"Your lucky numbers are #3, 7, 18, 39, 44

14

I also got the “You would make a good lawyer” fortune once. And I am a lawyer. That one got taped to my monitor at work.

15

Confucius also said “1000 women are not worth a single testice”, so I tend to discount his wisdom when it appears in my cookie.

What gets me is how do you know whose cookie is which when they are served all together on a plate in a restaurant? Are you getting the one Fate meant you to have? Or should you shut your eyes and pick? Or should you swap with your friend? Or you should eat them all, and pick the best one?

16

Whichever one you pick up and open is the one the cosmos intended you to have. If you change your mind at the last minute and instead switch to another one, no matter. THAT is the one you were intended to have. It is a phenomenon not unlike the Schrodinger’s cat paradox, too complicated to go into here.

So, we have a few fairly specific messages, but not the one I got, and few if any multiple hits.

17

I got one that stated
“You will become an accomplished writer”

18

btw I meant “testicle” not “testice” in my post above. At least Confucius did.

19

So, did you? (Pardon me for asking but I don’t know you that well).

20

The last one that I got said “Be kind to pigeons because one day a statue will be erected in your honour”

Nice.