KUSA - Thursday is a great day to celebrate the joy that is instant ramen.
It is the 105th birthday of Momofuku Ando, the inventor of every college kid's favorite meal: noodles in a cup.
He also founded Nissin Food Products Co., Ltd.
Have you seen Thursday's Google Doodle?
If not, here it is:
To commemorate his birthday, here are the top 9 reasons why instant noodles are the best:
1. Cup Noodles have been around since the decade of disco.
Ando invented Cup Noodles in 1971. You could eat them, dance and not feel guilty. Unless you're dancing to "Disco Duck." Feel free to be guilty about that.
2. It is cheap.
Many a student spent much of their college dining experience on this stuff. How could you not, at around $2 for a case of 12 packs?
3. Instant ramen is packed with enough sodium to get you through the year.
Well, maybe not that much. But there are 1,560 grams of sodium per pack. That's more than half of what is recommended per day by the FDA.
4. There are more flavors than you can imagine.
The days of boring, old chicken flavor have long past. You can buy ramen in chili, picante beef and habanero shrimp.
5. Ramen makes a pretty tasty salad.
Lots of people put uncooked ramen in a variety of salads. Have you tried this one?
6. Instant ramen is out of this world ...literally.
In 2005, Ando created the first noodles to be eaten in space. "Space Ram," was vacuum-packed and portable.
7. Ramen is worthy of our observance.
The CupNoodles Museum in Japan is dedicated to nothing but the tasty meal and is quite the tourist destination.
8. It's "better" for you than fries.
Large fries have about 510 calories and 24 grams of fat in them. One serving of ramen has 188 calories and 7 grams of fat. However, one serving of ramen is only half a package.
9. Justin Timberlake's 90's hair basically was ramen.
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