Welcome back!
I was delayed in returning to the grid because I have been puzzling, as I am sure you have, over why so many flags are at half-staff over college dormitories, military barracks, cheap apartment complexes, trailer parks and the little huts on the corner of used-car lots. 
Explanation — and sad news — comes from The Economist: Momofuko Ando, inventor of the ramen noodle, the instant noodle, the Cup-A-Noodle, has died, on January 5th, aged 96.
Now, let me say this from the get-go — I never imagined there was an inventor of the instant noodle. I always assumed that they, like foie gras, simply sprang into our cuisine, centuries ago, when some forefather tried it, liked it and said "me want more!"
But the humble ramen noodle is, in fact, only 50 years old.
I think we can all agree the ramen noodle is not foie gras. But can you think of something so cheap that brings so much pleasure? Beef flavor, prawn flavor, chicken flavor — it’s all indistinguishable (we conducted 18 months of blind taste tests when I was in the Navy, so I know) and it’s all good.
R.I.P. Ando-san, you noodle-making son-of-a-gun!
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I recall one particular week in college when I ate nothing but ramen soup. Yes, an entire week of the stuff until my paycheck came in (even now, you can get 3 packs of ramens for about $1, on sale). When your budget's tight, you can survive off of ramen soup, peanut butter sandwiches, and apples and carrots for quite a while. Come on, I know I wasn't the only one who had to do that.
Hey Allan! Hats off to you for writing this post! For the past couple of weeks, we all were wondering why flags were at half-staff all around our campus here at Auburn. Maybe I have been out of the loop lately, but I did not know that the ramen noodle was invented 50 years ago by Momofuko Ando. Especially, I did not know that he had passed away. Congratulations to a man that invented a noodle that would become a staple food for college students- may he rest in peace. The ramen noodle is a strange food product to me and have never even considered how it came into our food line. However, the ramen noodle without a doubt is used all over the U.S. at college campuses. It may always be a mystery as in to whether it's the noodle's cooking simplicity and choice of flavor, or it's average cost of 33 cents that makes it popular among college students. No matter the reason why we enjoy the ramen noodle as much as we do, we all know that there will perhaps never be something so cheap that brings so much delight as the ramen noodle. Thanks for sharing the information Allan! I loved it! Have a good day!