He’s On the Trail of a Larger Conspiracy

I read the hard-hitting piece of investigative journalism by Hank Rosenfeld regarding the missing “O” in Cup Noodles (“Hard-Boiled Noodle Noir,” Metropolis, June 24), and I was appalled. Is this an isolated case, in which Nissin Foods is merely playing into American xenophobia in a misguided attempt to cover up the obviously Irish roots of “Cup O’Noodles” (the O’Noodle family must be turning over in their graves)? Or is it the tip of a larger conspiracy? Remember the mysterious disappearance of the “the” in “Smokey the Bear” a few years back? Is the government really that concerned about simplifying our lives and saving us precious seconds, or is there something bigger happening here? What’s next, I wonder? “Winnie Pooh”? “Late Night with Conan Brien”? “Rock-Roll”? Where does it stop?

Ron Birnbach

Venice