One of the great things about eating at a Chinese restaurant is getting the fortune cookie at the end of the meal. Typically, a fortune cookie contains a little piece of paper that contains lottery numbers and a Chinese word. One would think that piece of paper would also contain a fortune, but lately, that’s not often the case.

The last couple of times my husband and I ate at the Chinese restaurant, our cookies did not contain “fortunes.” The idea behind a fortune cookie is best defined on dictionary.com as “things that happen or are to happen to a person in his or her life.” While it’s understandable that a fortune won’t be as specific as “you will win the lottery,” it is expected that a fortune will be “you will see a change in your finances.” The latter is just vague enough that almost anything, from finding a penny on the curb to losing $5 out of your wallet, can allow the person to feel like the fortune was accurate.

The newest fortunes, though, aren’t worded as fortunes. A fortune is based on the premise of luck and chance. The fortunes we’ve received lately sound a lot more like advice.

Recent fortune cookies have delivered the following messages to us: (1) Avert misunderstanding by calm, poise, and balance, (2) You have a reputation for being straightforward and honest, and (3) The smart thing is to prepare for the unexpected.

Which of those is a fortune? That’s right. None of them are. Each could easily be tweaked to become a fortune, but as they are, we have two pieces of advice and a description. Why not say, “you will avert a misunderstanding by being calm, poised, and balanced”? It’s not great, but at least it’s a fortune. What about, “you will develop a reputation for being straightforward and honest” or “You will be prepared for the unexpected”? Again, perhaps not the greatest of fortunes, but they are fortunes.

The fun of a fortune cookie is breaking it open to see what fate has in store for you. It wasn’t something I took seriously, but I enjoyed being able to laugh when I’d read what the future had in store. If they want to dispense advice, that’s fine, I guess, but let’s not call them fortune cookies. A cookie that dispenses advice should be called an advice cookie, one with a description a description cookie.

Personally, I’d prefer they leave them as fortune cookies and make sure that each cookie contains an actual fortune, one just vague enough that it might come true. If I want advice, I’ll ask somebody I trust. If I want to read an inspring quotation, I’ll go to Barlett’s. If I want a description of myself, I’ll ask somebody. When I go eat Chinese, I want a fortune cookie that contains a fortune.