After one customer got takeout and opened their fortune cookie, they found something inside that was far from a fortune.
Instead, they found a pharmaceutical ad.
Here's what to know
The customer shared their story and a photo of the "fortune" cookie to Reddit's r/MildlyInfuriating community.
Rather than a standard fortune, the paper seemed to advertise a nasal spray.
Commenters quickly piled on against the practice. One wrote, "We already have ads shoved down our throats metaphorically. Now it is almost literally." The original poster responded, adding, "The worst part was the food was amazing so I will definitely go back, but this sucks."
Another user joked, "You have to pay for Fortune Cookies Premium if you don't want ads."
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As one commenter put it, "You know it's gotten bad when they're filling FORTUNE COOKIES with ads." A third commenter similarly wrote, "this is not the dystopian future I expected."
More background
Similar stories kept coming up in the replies. One person said an order from a neighborhood Chinese restaurant came with "an insurance ad," and another described fortune-cookie slips promoting a gambling website alongside a message about good luck.
The OP later added that there are "probably only a few fortune cookie vendors and they are just starting to do this," implying many more restaurants may soon receive preprinted inserts from outside manufacturers.
Where can I learn more?
Diners have complained about this for a while, as ads keep showing up inside fortune cookies. These stories cover other cases where customers cracked one open and found branded inserts instead of the usual message.
• Another customer opened up a fortune cookie and found a Verizon ad tucked inside.
• A neighborhood Chinese restaurant order arrived with advertising inside the fortune cookie.
• One diner said they'd never seen it before after cracking open a promotional cookie.
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