Lilly Sullivan

And he just had this sort of throwaway line that, yeah, this myth of MSG being harmful can be traced back to one letter in the New England Journal of Medicine.

And he just had this sort of throwaway line that, yeah, this myth of MSG being harmful can be traced back to one letter in the New England Journal of Medicine.

And I was just sort of sitting there going, huh, one letter. It was like, oh, it's an origin story.

And I was just sort of sitting there going, huh, one letter. It was like, oh, it's an origin story.

So the letter reads, for several years since I have been in this country, I have experienced a strange syndrome whenever I have eaten out in a Chinese restaurant. The syndrome, which usually begins 15 to 20 minutes after I have eaten the first dish, lasts for about two hours without any hangover effect. The most prominent symptoms are numbness at the back of the neck.

So the letter reads, for several years since I have been in this country, I have experienced a strange syndrome whenever I have eaten out in a Chinese restaurant. The syndrome, which usually begins 15 to 20 minutes after I have eaten the first dish, lasts for about two hours without any hangover effect. The most prominent symptoms are numbness at the back of the neck.

And that one line is what spawned this entire myth. The letter is signed, Robert Ho Man Kwok, M.D.

And that one line is what spawned this entire myth. The letter is signed, Robert Ho Man Kwok, M.D.

Like, you know, why is a board member calling me?

Like, you know, why is a board member calling me?

I am the author of Ho Man Kwok. my brain just sort of goes, what?

I am the author of Ho Man Kwok. my brain just sort of goes, what?

And I'm listening to the voicemail in my living room, and my jaw is just dropping. Because up until then, I had completely, I had operated under the assumption that Dr. Ho Man Kwok was a Chinese-American researcher. And all of a sudden, I don't know what to believe.

And I'm listening to the voicemail in my living room, and my jaw is just dropping. Because up until then, I had completely, I had operated under the assumption that Dr. Ho Man Kwok was a Chinese-American researcher. And all of a sudden, I don't know what to believe.

I mean, the titles were very, very offensive. Let's see, let me see if I can find the one. From the Chicago Tribune, in broken English, the headline is Chinese Food Make You Crazy? MSG is number one suspect. Wow. Chinese food make you crazy. I can't believe that was a headline. Yeah. So I was like, hmm. They were all reacting to something that wasn't even real. It was all projection.

I mean, the titles were very, very offensive. Let's see, let me see if I can find the one. From the Chicago Tribune, in broken English, the headline is Chinese Food Make You Crazy? MSG is number one suspect. Wow. Chinese food make you crazy. I can't believe that was a headline. Yeah. So I was like, hmm. They were all reacting to something that wasn't even real. It was all projection.

In my family, there's a story. The kind your family never forgets. It's about a hitchhiker. It happened decades ago in 1974. There were three women in a car. My aunt Manuelita, her daughter, and their cousin. Manuelita was driving.

In my family, there's a story. The kind your family never forgets. It's about a hitchhiker. It happened decades ago in 1974. There were three women in a car. My aunt Manuelita, her daughter, and their cousin. Manuelita was driving.

Holding his finger in the air? Uh-huh. Manuelita is now 96, and her daughter in the car, Anita, remembers more of the details. So I'm going to let Anita tell a lot of this. She was a kid at the time, 10 years old.

Holding his finger in the air? Uh-huh. Manuelita is now 96, and her daughter in the car, Anita, remembers more of the details. So I'm going to let Anita tell a lot of this. She was a kid at the time, 10 years old.