(typewriter dings)
- [Narrator] Behold!
Instant noodles.
But where do they come from?
Meet Momofuku Ando.
Born in Taiwan in 1910, Momofuku Ando was
a natural-born entrepreneur.
By the time he was 22, he had already started
a textile company.
By 1933, he had already traveled to nearby Japan.
After World War II, he became a Japanese citizen
and started a merchandising firm.
That's pretty impressive stuff.
However, his stuff of genius isn't related
to merchandising or fabric.
It's noodles - instant noodles, actually.
When Ando saw a line of people waiting
for ramen in the cold, he had a jolt of inspiration, saying
"Peace will come to the world
"when the people have had enough to eat."
At the time, noodles were cooked and served fresh.
But what if there was a way to make them more convenient?
Ando spent a year tinkering with noodles.
He learned that by sprinkling soup on the noodles,
kneading them, and letting them partially dry,
they become flavored and also keep longer.
The first instant noodles were born in 1958.
(baby gurgling)
Now instead of waiting in a freezing line for hours,
anyone on the planet could have noodles
in just three minutes.
He founded the Nissin Food Products Company,
and instant noodles quickly became one of the world's
favorite convenience foods, found in hundreds of countries,
and even in space.
Ando's last invention was Space Ram, a noodle designed
to function in zero gravity.
(ram bleats)