Momofuku Ando, a Taiwanese immigrant living in Japan, invented instant ramen after seeing crowds queue for black-market noodles in postwar hunger. He experimented in a shed with a noodle machine and a wok, and realised that deep frying noodles made water vaporise and leave tiny pores, so they rehydrated in two minutes without going stale. Nissin launched Chicken Ramen on August 25, 1958, at six times the price of fresh ramen, and prices fell as demand grew. The packaged cup version followed in 1971. Ramen's name came from the Chinese lamian, though Japanese ramen is rolled rather than pulled.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.