your post made me want to look this up Court Knee... hope its ok to share : )

The Fortune Cookie is a crisp cookie made from flour, sugar, butter, vanilla, and milk which is baked around a fortune, a piece of paper with words of faux wisdom or vague prophecy. Throughout the western world, it is usually served with Chinese food in Chinese-American restaurants as a dessert. The message inside may also include a list of lucky numbers (used by some as lottery numbers) and a Chinese phrase with translation. Fortune cookies in their current form were first served in California by immigrants who based the cookie on a traditional Japanese cracker. The cookies are little-known in mainland China] or Taiwan.

link : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortune_cookie#Etymology

i think there is a 'theory' that 'fortune telling' is a bit like positive affirmations...

you can 'create' your own future by what you repeat to yourself today..... : )