FOUNDER OF INSTANT NOODLES DIES.

The inventor of instant noodles, and founder ofNissin Food Products has died at the age of 96.

Momofuku Ando was inspired to develop the world's first instant noodle product after coming across a long line of people waiting to buy fresh "ramen" noodles from a black market stall during the food shortages after World War II, according to his company bio.

His Chicken Ramen product became hugely popular in 1958, He introduced Cup Noodle in 1971. Ando opened a museum devoted to instant noodles in Osaka in 1999.

Reuters announced in his obituary that: "Providing the instant noodles in a waterproof styrofoam container that could be used to cook them using just hot water proved a stroke of marketing genius that made the product a hit with time-pressed people around the world."

An inscription at the museum reads: “In 1958, Momofuku Ando invented instant noodles here in Ikeda, and changed the food culture of the world.” With the introduction of Space Ram (space ramen) in July 2005 as a food for space flight, perhaps it can now be said that he changed the food culture of the universe.