1Some people associate instant noodles with broke college students,
2but instant ramen wasn't created for a bunch of hungry 20 year olds.
3The man who invented them was much more ambitious.
4He set out to solve a hunger crisis in Japan.
5After World War II, food shortages plagued Japanese cities.
6So the U.S. supplied wheat flour and encouraged the Japanese to make bread.
7One man named Momofuku Ando didn't understand why his people would make bread instead of noodles,
8something that was already part of their culture.
9Ando decided to take matters into his own hands and create a new ramen made to last.
10He spent a year trying to figure out how to preserve the noodles.
11He needed a nonperishable, tasty, and easy recipe,
12but it was a challenge to maintain the robust flavors and unique texture that most people were accustomed to.
13It wasn't until his wife was making dinner one night
14and he threw some noodles in a bowl of hot tempura oil
15that he realized flash frying the noodles was the answer he had been looking for.
16This method not only dehydrated them,
17it left small perforations that allowed the noodles to recook quickly.
18And there you have it, instant ramen noodles became an instant success.
19Ando's products gained notoriety when he introduced the packaged ramen in the 1950s and later cup noodles in 1978.
20His company began selling upwards of 40 billion units every year,
21and Momofuku Ando became a culinary icon in Japan.
22So, the next time you heat up a cup of instant noodles,
23remember, you're slurping down a little piece of history.