The fortune cookie

The fortune cookie is the most-read dessert in the world: a crack, a slip of paper and a phrase that — miracle of chance — always seems to be about you. It was born over a century ago in the kitchens of California's Chinese restaurants, and nobody since has invented a friendlier way of serving destiny with dessert.

The ritual is universal: think of something nice, crack the cookie with both hands and read the slip — silently first, out loud if the table demands it. Under the phrase, the American tradition adds the lucky numbers, in case fortune comes with a prize attached.

Here the cookie works exactly the same and is considerably lighter: crack, the two halves part, the crumbs fall, and out comes your slip with one of the 50 house fortunes — written here, not translated from any restaurant — plus your six numbers from 1 to 49. If the fortune does not fit you, crack another: it is one of the few things in life you can repeat without gaining weight.

Is it a serious oracle? It is the least serious of them all, which is precisely why it works: nobody argues with a cookie. Take it as you would at the table — a smile, a sentence to chew on the way home and a few numbers for your pocket.