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From enjoying a hot bowl of Maggi noodles on a rainy day to eating chowmein at your college canteen with your squad, noodles have always been the go-to snack for every foodie. It'll surprise you that there are many fun facts related to noodles. Did you know that instant noodles were invented by the Japanese and not the Chinese? Here are some more mind-boggling facts about your favourite dish of all time - noodles.
1. There’s a museum in Japan, which is fully dedicated to cup noodles
Located in Yokohama, the cup noodle museum lets visitors make chicken ramen by hand in a factory. There’s even a cup noodle park in the museum. Children see cup noodles from the noodle’s point of view and have fun learning about the entire manufacturing process, from making the noodles to shipping them out. The park has slides, and other creative rides through which children understand how noodles are made.
2. The first noodle was made 4,000 years ago in China
Made from millet, a type of cereal grain in China, the first noodle dates back all the way to 2,000 BC. 4,000 years ago, in China, archaeologists discovered the earliest trace of noodles. In 2005, a team of archaeologists reportedly discovered a pottery bowl with noodles, which were 4,000-years-old, at the Lajia archaeological site in northern China.
3. Samsung originally sold noodles
It wasn’t until 1970 that Samsung started selling electronics. Samsung, which was founded in 1938, by Lee Byung-Chul, was initially conceptualised as a store for trading goods like flour, vegetables and dried fish. Samsung also created their own noodles for export.
4. Before it became a budget-friendly option, noodles were once sold as a luxury item
Ironically, noodles are one of the cheapest meals to consume today. Did you know that you could eat three square meals of instant noodles a day for an entire year for just $142.65 (approx ₹11,000)? However, this wasn’t always the case. When instant ramen was first made, it was sold at a price of 35 yen and was considered a luxury item due to its price and novelty. It was because of their popularity and globalisation that their mass production started and noodles became affordable.
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7. Noodles have been to space
Japanese astronaut Sochi Noguchi took instant noodles with him when he went to space in 2005. A food company even came up with zero-gravity instant noodles shaped like balls that space travellers could easily consume.
