Order Chinese from any restaurant in the United States and you’re bound to get a fortune cookie (or six ) to finish off your meal. In fact, most people look forward to cracking open a fortune cookie to see exactly what their future may hold. While most of us may think this tradition holds in China as it does here, you might be surprised to learn that the fortune cookie we know today wasn’t actually invented in China.

Believe it or not, the iteration of the fortune cookies that we know in love wasn’t invented in the east at all. The modern fortune cookie was actually invented in California. This is also where the Americanized version of Chinese that we enjoy stateside first formed. Many of the dishes we know and love as Chinese cuisine in the US aren’t even enjoyed in China at all. The American fortune cookie was based on a variation of the Japanese \"omikuji Senbei\" fortune cookie. The main difference is that the American version was much sweeter and more desert-like.

Next time you crack open a fortune cookie, know that they weren’t exactly invented where you think they were!