“An empty fortune cookie is very unfortunate”

A Chinese fortune cookie usually has a fortune in it. However, it’s not unusual for one cookie to have two fortunes, or for a cookie to have no fortune in it at all. Some people worry that a fortune cookie without a fortune in it is a sign of bad luck, but the messages are usually just harmless thoughts, anyway.
 
“Just had an empty fortune cookie. How unfortunate” was posted on Twitter on November 14, 2008. “Is an empty fortune cookie…UNFORTUNATE??” was posted on Twitter on June 28, 2010. “I once got an empty fortune cookie. It was very unfortunate” was posted on Twitter on November 14, 2013. “Today I got an empty fortune cookie. It was very unfortunate” was posted on Reddit—Dad Jokes on June 24, 2018.
 
       
Wikipedia: Fortune cookie
A fortune cookie is a crisp and sugary cookie usually made from flour, sugar, vanilla, and sesame seed oil with a piece of paper inside, a “fortune”, on which is an aphorism, or a vague prophecy. The message inside may also include a Chinese phrase with translation and/or a list of lucky numbers used by some as lottery numbers; since relatively few distinct messages are printed, in the recorded case where winning numbers happened to be printed, the lottery had an unexpectedly high number of winners sharing a prize. Fortune cookies are often served as a dessert in Chinese restaurants in the United States and other Western countries, but are not a tradition in China.
           
Ars Technica
Is a fortuneless fortune cookie considered bad luck?
Mojo-jojo   
Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2001 2:46 pm
Well…I dunno.
I did get a blank one a few months ago, but the next day I got a cookie with 5 really good fortunes in it.
I don’t remember anything particularly good or bad happening, so…no. big grin
 
Straight Dope Message Board
Empty Fortune Cookie!! what does it mean?
Mirror Image egamI rorriM
11-29-2003, 01:39 PM
It’s a misfortune cookie.
 
Capt B. Phart
11-29-2003, 02:19 PM
It’s just a cookie
 
Master Wang-Ka
11-29-2003, 02:21 PM
It means… you have NO fortune, and therefore no FUTURE.
Make your will, quickly.
     
Yahoo! Answers (July 16, 2008)
What does it mean when you get an empty fortune cookie?
Best Answer:
  I imagine that would be spooky….
However, I wouldn’t let it cause undue worry. Perhaps the Universe is just telling you that you aren’t truly gonna find your fortune in a cookie.
Just enjoy the cookie for what it is.
P.S. > If it’s really bothering you, go buy a bag of fortune cookies. What are the odds you’d get a whole bag of empty cookies?
Shaman
 
Twitter   
Diane Heaton
@Factitious
Just had an empty fortune cookie. How unfortunate.
9:30 PM - 14 Nov 2008
   
Twitter
Crystal Hutcheson
@SisterHutch
Not sure how I’m supposed to press on in life after receiving an empty fortune cookie. A truly unfortunate situation.
1:31 PM - 30 May 2010
   
Twitter
Kyle from Florida
@RadCactus
Is an empty fortune cookie…UNFORTUNATE??
11:20 PM - 28 Jun 2010
 
Reddit
I got an empty fortune cookie… am I going to die (imgur.com)
submitted May 26, 2011 by Tw9caboose
     
Twitter
Brett McDuffie
@bmcduff7
Panda Express just gave me an empty fortune cookie. How unfortunate.
5:04 PM - 21 Mar 2013
 
Twitter
Aaron Patterson
@tenderlove
I once got an empty fortune cookie. It was very unfortunate.
4:09 PM - 14 Nov 2013 from Seattle, WA
 
Reddit—MildlyInteresting
Empty fortune cookie (i.imgur.com)
submitted December 27, 2014 by BABarista
COMMENTS
BrutalWarPig
How unfortunate
 
Reddit—Jokes
I got an empty fortune cookie the other day.
submitted August 11, 2015 by Beatlemaniac9
It was unfortunate.
     
Battle Creek (MI) Enquirer
29 July 2016, Battle Creek (MI) Enquirer, “Trying to read the crumbs of an empty fortune cookie” by Nicole L. V. Mullis, pg. A8:
There was a piece of paper inside, but it was completely blank. No predictions, no lucky numbers, no Chinese word for cow.
 
Now I might not hold with such things, but receiving a blank fortune made me feel very unfortunate.
 
Was the universe trying to tell me something?
 
I showed it to my family, sure their teasing would banish my dread. Instead, my oldest shook her head.
 
“That’s not good.”
 
Reddit—Shower Thoughts
An empty fortune cookie is very unfortunate, but notsomuch a misfortune.
submitted October 10, 2016 by amiintoodeep
     
Twitter
Cookieboy1221
@Cookieboy12211
an empty fortune cookie is unfortunate
10:56 PM - 1 Nov 2017
 
Reddit—AskReddit
You receive an empty fortune cookie. How do you interpret that?
(self.AskReddit)
submitted April 30, 2018 by somebodysbuddy
COMMENTS
Ithinkitsno
Just realize that your life has no meaning
 
Reddit—Dad Jokes
Today I got an empty fortune cookie (self.dadjokes)
submitted June 24, 2018 by gardian20
It was very unfortunate