Worry not, bachelors. You’ve got a goldmine in your cabinet, assuming you go to prison. With changes in prison food availability, particularly less of it as part of cost-cutting measures around the country, there’s a new king on the prison trading market. Move over cigarettes, prisoners are now using ramen noodles as prison currency. That’s right, those bricks of 12-cent noodles at Walmart are now enough to make you a king in Cell Block D.
“Prisoners are so unhappy with the quality and quantity of prison food that they receive that they have begun relying on ramen noodles — a cheap, durable food product — as a form of money in the underground economy,” said a statement from Michael Gibson-Light, author of the study and doctoral student at the University of Arizona’s School of Sociology. “Because it is cheap, tasty, and rich in calories, ramen has become so valuable that it is used to exchange for other goods.”
As it turns out, food is more important than pretty much everything. I’d imagine increasing rules against smoking and a general downturn in the amount of tobacco use among prisoners might have something to do with it, too. Having recently rediscovered my love of ramen noodles, particularly the hot and spicy flavor, I can’t say I blame them for turning to the cheapest, easiest, most delicious meal every college student swears by.
Tags: ramen, ramen noodles, prison, ramen noodles prison, ramen noodles used as money, prison currency, cigarettes, ramen noodles are now prison money, ramen noodles replace cigarettes as prison money, unusual studies, american sociological association, university of arizona, university of arizona school of sociology, Michael Gibson-Light
