Is Japan Proud of Its Association with Instant Noodles?

An entrepreneur named Momofuku Ando created the first instat noodles in Japan in 1958, during a period after World War II when food was still relatively scarce. He marketed the first package of pre-cooked instant noodles -- originally called Chikin Ramen -- with the thought that “peace will come to the world when the people have enough to eat.” The creation had such a lasting effect on Japanese culture that in 2015, when 500 Japanese men and women were asked which invention the country should be most proud of, a whopping 57 percent selected instant noodles, rather than mentioning their nation's many technological breakthroughs.

Noodles that captivated a nation:

• The survey did not ask people to pick an invention from a long list of Japanese achievements, such as CD players, Blu-ray discs, the Walkman and other technological marvels. They had to fill in a blank for themselves.
• The poll found that the No. 2 source of Japanese pride was the blue LED light, the efficient light source that saves money around the world. The inventor, Shuji Nakamura, won a Nobel Prize for it in 2013.
• The Top 10 of notable Japanese inventions included: washlet toilets, automatic ticket gates, karaoke, curry in a pouch, dry-cell batteries, and electric rice cookers.