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Four Millennia Old Noodles Found In China
mollten writes "According to BBC News, the world's oldest noodles have been found at the Lajia site in China. Carbon Dating has found the remains to be over 4000 years old." From the article: "Prior to the discovery of noodles at Lajia, the earliest written record of noodles is traced to a book written during the East Han Dynasty sometime between AD 25 and 220, although it remained a subject of debate whether the Chinese, the Italians, or the Arabs invented it first ... Our discovery indicates that noodles were first produced in China."
They should keep digging. I'm betting they've stumbled across an old Lajia University dormitory and discovered students' supplies of Ramen. (Well at least that's what we lived on in college.)
That stuff lasts forever. Bet it was.
Probably still good.
4000 = 2*2*2*2*2*5*5*5
1. heat 1 cup boiling water
2. peel back lid on cup and pour water to line
3. cover for 3 minutes
Wonder what the expiration date was.
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While Ramen was technically invented in the 1970's, I just can't help thinking about how ramen would have tasted 4000 years ago. Would it be plain, or maybe chicken flavored? How about beef flavored? I really wish I knew, but all we have now is a microscopic noodle-shaped, tubular shriviled up mass that would probably taste horrible if mixed with water. :/
This is irrefutable archeologycal proof of the existance of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.
This may have an impact on the holy books, but I'm sure the clergy is already handling the matter.
A slashdot story was unearthed days after it was published by the bbc.
I thought it was a concrete fact that the chinese invented it and it migrated west. The italians haven't had them for all that long.
"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy."
I can find that at the shop around the corner. It even includes a coupon to go and see where they're building the Egyptian pyramids...
This finding replaces the previous record, 270 years, previously held by "Uncle Joe's Authentic Chynees" (sic) on 3rd Street. While the restaurant (closed since August under order of the local health department after reports of patrons teeth chipping while eating the "Egg-Foou-Youngings") no longer holds the record, it maintains its distinction as the restaurant serving the oldest noodles. When asked for comment, "Uncle Joe" continued to defend his cuisine stating that his establishment has a policy of never serving food older than he is.
When asked, "Uncle Joe" said he was born March 23rd, 1723.
You'd think they would have found something between 270 years and 4000 years, huh? ;)
Comment forecast: Bits of genius surrounded by a sea of mediocrity.
....that we were all created by his noodly appendage .
If they were Ramen, they would still be edible.
Pour some hot water on it and let it sit for about 1 minute! Maybe the skeleton is the remains of an ancient Chinese college student about to make a nice bowl of Ramen after a night of spending laboring away at his abacus, trying to find the bug in his algorithm for doing this new thing called multiplication.
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I heard about this days ago on NPR. Between the duplicates, late reports, and things more interesting than this being rejected... What is going on here at Slashdot?
Hell they should have dug in the back of my refrigerator; I've got noodles WAY older than that back there...
The world's oldest flavor sauce and oil packets were found.
sounds delicious
Um...
Yes, you do.
While Mr. Noodles share the short cooking time of ramen noodles, they distinguish themselves with flavours such as Spicy Curry and Spicy Beef. Here's a treat for all you undergrads: boil up two bricks of Mr. Noodles' noodles, and combine 'Oriental' and 'Spicy Beef' flavour packets in your bowl. You'll be rewarded with a symphony of well-balanced tastiness!
That way we could know if it was the spicy thai kind.
is 58 million Italians crying out in anguish
"I'd rather be a lightning rod than a seismometer." -Ken Kesey
Although I would tend to agree with that theory, this is badly worded, to the verge of being a logical fallacy. It would be better to say that the discovery "rules out the Italians and Arabs," since those cultures post-date these noodles (assuming the accuracy of the dating, despite radiocarbon's vulnerability to contamination). The discovery does not prove that some earlier culture didn't have noodles first. We can only say we have no evidence for an earlier existence.
Hell, I've eaten ramen that's been in my dorm cabinet longer than that.
Also found nearby was the world's oldest chicken ball, and world's oldest heat lamp.
Yes, actually, I do.
They found four noodles.
Even ancient Chinese people needed their vitamin ramen.
This doesn't necessarily mean noodles were invented in china... It is just the oldest known evidence of noodles. Ancient chinese could have gotten them from ancient russians or whomever.
Strange, I read the article, and I wanted to read it again twenty minutes later.
because those spicy ones last forever
Care to provide peer-reviewed literature to backup your anecdotes? I didn't think so.
Hum, those archeologist must have never explored my kitchen.
What they didn't say is that they also found 30 unopened packets of Duck Sauce...
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...on a room service tray in the hallway of a 3000-year old hotel
fak3r.com
Oh, noodles, not poodles...
Business as usual.
You must be new here.
Nothing to see, move along.
I observe your ID and can only assume you are an infrequent lurker or perhaps the question was rhetoric.
There is no right to feel safe thru security vaudeville at the expense of everyone's freedom, privacy and tax money.
...is as old as those noodles!
ha!!
Why stick up for big business?
I bet they're not as tasty as four millenia old twinkies would be.
and shove it up your tight ass. Had any diamonds come out of there lately?
Oh, I forgot, this is slashdot, any argument has to have a "you're stupid" in it.
So, you're stupid.
Wow. 4000 years, now that's something. I wonder what tools they used to make those and how they cooked them. Who knows, maybe they will discover a 5000 year old hamburger, consumed by native Americans while enjoying their weekly sacrifice to their favourite god.
Also, carbon dating isn't used for anything as old as dinosaur remains, so sorry, tossing out carbon dating won't let you put a younger date on dinosaur fossils.
" the world's oldest noodles have been found at the Lajia site in China. Carbon Dating has found the remains to be over 4000 years old."
Bet they're crunchy....
Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.
You mean Four-Millennia-Old, that's the adjective form. Otherwise, it would be "four years old", but it's not an adjective in that case ('years' is a noun, and it's a noun phrase).
So, yes, the headline is 'wrong' technically, but headlines are usually abbreviated forms of sentences/phrases anyway.
Clones are people two.
The 1980s called, they want their noodles back.
1980 B.C.
This story is 2 days old. My god, It's no wonder that I'm going DIGG now. DAYS OLD. Maybe we can talk about what happened with Clinton next.
Yah, this story feels as old as the noodles.
I saw this last week when it was actually News; Can't find the article offhand...Probably because they've moved on to something that actually is News.
Besides, 4000 year old noodles arn't that big of a deal; The place I ate at tonight had bread that tasted twice that old.
"Yeah, but by we know yo mama gives EVERYBODY root privilege..." -jpetts (208163)
We dont know where noodles where invented, just like we dont know alot about our history in the early ages of man. Just because they found some evidience doesnt make it fact that china was first. Its a theory, nothing can be proven as fact yet.
Tired of all these new discoveries to be taken as fact, when they keep changing every few years...
Did they eat them with thousand-year-old eggs?
In other News..
A Malnurished homeless man was caught inside the Institute trying to steal the 4,000 noodles. When caught, the main explained that he only wanted to use them in chow mein to feed his poor family.
\
*sings* "..Oodles and Oodles of Noodles, Oodles and Oodles of Noodles.."
... and its a funny thing about the 'begats'... each generation (with a couple exceptions) has a somewhat shorter life expectancy, starting at 900-some odd years and gradually declining...
;-)
;-)
Creationists can't swallow evolution, but 1000 year old men sounds plausable?
By any sane measure (heh, ironic) using the 'begats', the world is only about 15-20 generations older than it was when christ was born, which would make it much YOUNGER than the creationists believe. I say a branch of science aughtta lay that one out on the table
Then there is the little problem that even with super high-resolution spy satellites, we still haven't found Eden or that big flaming sword that guards its entrance... heh.
And the number 1 least logical thing about this post? I am a protestant christian
What could possibly hurt the security of the American people more than giving our own government the ability to hide its
Slashdot is really lagging....
the oldest noodles before this discovery belonged to a guy a i knew in college where the local health department found 5 years noodles in his frig..
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Carbon Dating has found the remains to be over 4000 years old
I'm pretty sure some of the Smack ramen I subsisted on in college was pretty close to that.
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whoever modded that offtopic was really stupid youknow...
What the fuck is wrong with you SLASHDOT MORONS? This story is fucking old!!
Here is where older examples of takeout were found in North America no less.
Bet it was absolutely saturated it the stuff.
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Must be a fake; it's not for sale on ebay!
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:( Man, why is this story even on slashdot? Just to give everyone the chance to prove the existence of the Flying Spaguetti Monster and get a +5 funny? I counted at least 7 FSM jokes, and not a single one of them was modded "redundant".
about 90% of all posts in this thread are either funny or trying to be.
Oh, wait. It's FRIDAY. Nevermind.
Since /. updated I frequently have *two* of the same articles display in Safari's RSS reader, each beside one another. Why is that happening?
Okay, how do they date dinosaur remains,
That certainly takes necrophilia to a new low...
-- The Genesis project? What's that?
Then there is the little problem that even with super high-resolution spy satellites, we still haven't found Eden or that big flaming sword that guards its entrance... heh.
Just thought I'd note Eden was supposed to have gone away with the great flood
I'm sure it's done to some degree, but it would seem to me that there exists an opportunity for archaeologists to tempt people into the field by taking reproductions of these ancient foods to schools. If you want to make archaeology interesting to kids, you need to show them more of an end result than a dry, rather obscure research paper, some lumps of stone and a trowel. Make ancient history something real to them, something they can see, something they can actually relate to, and you're more likely to get them interested in it.
It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
Cheers. That was awesome
It doesn't mean that Italians learned noodle making from China. However, it does mean that the Chinese have a bragging right for first inventing noodles.
This must be the best example of the decline of the QOR (quality of reporting) here at /.
the flavor packet is down there somewhere.
Ceci n'est pas une signature.
"although it remained a subject of debate whether the Chinese, the Italians, or the Arabs invented it first..."
Wrong. It isn't a subject of debate. It was always the Chinese. Arabs were never in the running, and whoever thought it might be the Italians are simply a bunch of eurocentric morons, completely ignorant of history.
> but headlines are usually abbreviated forms of sentences/phrases anyway.
I read that as "Slashdot headlines are usually abbreviated forms of senseless/phrases anyway"
heh I was gonna mod it +1 Insightful
No one else is going to welcome our new four thousand year old noodles-making Chinese overlords? ... Oh never mind, just realised it wasn't necessary anymore.
Instant Ramen was invented then, ramen itself has been around for a very long time. I suppose lots of people don't know this, but there are lots of ramen shops all over Japan, and they cook the food the same as any food. I believe that the ramen in real shops tends to have a little more nutritional value, though it's not as convenient, of course.
Although the moon is smaller than the earth, it is farther away.
You realize the reason MSG was used so extensively in asian cooking is because it increases the umeminess, the flavor you taste in meats and fish sauces. (Umemi is from japanese, the words umai: excellent, and mi or aji: taste) You can check wikipedia for more info if you don't believe in the awesomeness of the fifth flavor.
I wouldn't consider the mad hatter mad. Just reality impaired. He sure can make a mean cup of tea.
May the flying Spaghetti monster have mercy on our sauces.
If Mr. Edison had thought smarter he wouldn't sweat as much. --Nikola Tesla
Just read an article stating that they've found remnants of some 9000-year-old beer at a Chinese archaeological dig. The interesting thing is, I'm pretty sure agriculture has only been around for about 10,000 years, and there's no reason to think this is the oldest beer around... Could it be that beer caused civilization? This impartial observer believes, almost certainly yes.
Those are almost as old as the ones served to me at Panda Express today.
By any sane measure (heh, ironic) using the 'begats', the world is only about 15-20 generations older than it was when christ was born, which would make it much YOUNGER than the creationists believe.
I don't understand your statement. We know when Jesus was born through information outside of the Bible, and we know it's been about 2000 years since then. Figuring an average birthing age of around 20, that makes about 100 generations.
Also, there are about 76 generations listed between Adam and Jesus. Luke 3:23-38.
Personally, I think the argument is wasted effort on both sides. To those of faith, it does not matter what is proven, because their faith is what guides them and they don't need to prove it, because that's why it is called faith.
But anyway, Jesus didn't say, "know how old the Earth is and be saved," or, "take the Bible 100% literally and be saved," he said, "Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved."
What?
I work for the FSM.
So I am really getting a kick out of most of these replies.
Some of you guys are very good at making it sound like you know what you are talking about.
But trust me.... You don't.
I think you just want to make yourself sound smart, when in reality you dont know what you are talking about.
This is how bad info gets passed around.
If you dont know about the topic....Dont make yourself sound like you do.
Cuz some people belive anything they hear.
now think about it!
why would people who eat with sticks invent something u at least need a fork to eat
...some eggs found nearby were considered a delicacy.
Jesus also said "I can't believe these suckers!"
Then he said "I am sorry I made up all these stories because I am an attention whore" but it was too late, and they executed him for fraud.
Just thought I'd point out that there is zero - Z E R O - evidence outside of the bible which claims to verify the existance of a man names "Jesus" in or around the year 0-30CE
If you study up on it, fully 100% of the so-called "referances" were spliced in, intentionally, during the middle ages by bishops and such whom were translating ancient works from Arabic and Latin into English and French. For example, in one work by roman senator Lucius from around 80CE, a referance was made to a man with a name simmilar to "Jesus" having visted a town in his fathers time to trade animal skins or something. The passage was altered in translation and the phrase ", whom was known as the savior and the Christ" spliced in after the name. These sort of activities were common, and only in the last 100 years or so have been coming to light as pre-translation versions of some of these works have been dug out of the vatican archives and other sources.
Dont take my word for it, research it yourself. You will find that 100% of any non-bible sources which claim a man named "jesus" lived around that time were either altered or are forgeries.
Why would it surprise you that people lived longer - much longer than they do now? We are talking about a time when there was no pollution, most were farmers and therefore they got a lot of exercise, diseases were not too common and did not spread as quickly because the population was small and people were dispersed over vast areas?
About Eden - what makes you think that it should still exist? Does the Bible imply that Eden still exists? Do you need to see WTC right now to know that it once existed?
I thought all food was bio-degradable. Can something humans digest really last 4000 years?
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Who here hasn't heard of 4 minute noodles?!?
what? oh....
s/minute/millenium/
4 millenia old, with a 12 years old chianti... Absolutely wonderful !
Easy, just look at the Best Before date.
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I expect that they will discover them to be military rations before long.
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I know this may be kind of weird, but in terms of "culinary evolution"...why have they survived so long as a staple food item?
And also...is anybody here familiar with the concept of culinary evolution? I just kinda made it up for this post, but if it really exists and there is info out there on it I'd love to read it!
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fiber or rice-based paper box with an iron loop protruding from the sides, in the fashion of a simple handle; typical of that age.
The Luddites were ahead of their time.
It will be interesting to see what kind of dishes Iron Chef Chen can prepare with the noodles.
The reason that it makes no sense for them to live longer is the fact that we have very recently recorded history (1600-1800) of when majority of the people worked on the farms, had no polution and had an average lifespan of about 50 years. For example take a look at the US's southern states in those time to see complete lack of any polution from industry and majority of farming work. (If you go further back into history you'll find that the lifespan usually stayed the same or got shorter due to limited health knowledge)
The work on the farm is really not helpful for longer life because of lack of proper preventive medicine, proper food treatment, etc. Majority of deaths before the invention of antibiotics were simple infections that could easily be animal-born.
Yes, actually, I do.
;)
Well you're a bonehead th... never mind.
The thing is that these people are totally missing the point of religion. It is not supposed to be about facts. The bible was never intended to be a science book. It is supposed to be a book of stories that help people understand their place in the universe. Modern people tend to equate "myth" with fake. Which is completely missing the point. It isn't supposed to be real, it is supposed to be True. Augustine himself wrote that the biblical tale of creation could not possibly be taken literally. So you can't prove the bible false, because it isn't something that was intented to contain facts. It contains myths, which are what religion is all about.
Sig removed because it was obnoxious
The oldest noodles were probably invented when a kid got some of his/her porriage on his finger, and rolled it into a worm shape like most kids like to do. Bonus points for flinging it into the boiling pot when mommy is not looking.
Table-ized A.I.
The above artivle was cut a bit short. They neglected this last bit of the story. "In other news . . . they were delicious!"
What's wrong with this sentence?
"My neighbor's daughter is four years old."
Nothing, but the sentence being compared with would be more like:
"My neighbour's four years old daughter is in the garden," which is clearly wrong.
Yes, that is clearly wrong, however the question I was responding to was "You don't say four years old, right?", implying that it was improper usage across the board. I simply provided an example where "four years old" was, in fact, the proper usage.