Ira Glass

This is Ira Glass. In Lily's family, there's a story everybody knows by heart.

This is Ira Glass. In Lily's family, there's a story everybody knows by heart.

So what happens when Lily's mom tells her this story is not true? This American Life, surprising stories every week.

So what happens when Lily's mom tells her this story is not true? This American Life, surprising stories every week.

This is Ira Glass. In Lily's family, there's a story everybody knows by heart.

This is Ira Glass. In Lily's family, there's a story everybody knows by heart.

This is Ira Glass. In Lily's family, there's a story everybody knows by heart.

So what happens when Lily's mom tells her this story is not true? This American Life, surprising stories every week.

So what happens when Lily's mom tells her this story is not true? This American Life, surprising stories every week.

So what happens when Lily's mom tells her this story is not true? This American Life, surprising stories every week.

A few years ago, Jennifer LeMessurier was watching this PBS cooking show. And this chef, David Chang, started talking about MSG.

A few years ago, Jennifer LeMessurier was watching this PBS cooking show. And this chef, David Chang, started talking about MSG.

Of course, lots of people believe MSG is bad for you. It gives you headaches, a food hangover. That idea's been around for decades. I grew up hearing this. Maybe you did, too. But Jennifer knows this is a myth. In fact, the very next segment on the show is science and food writer Harold McGee saying just that.

Of course, lots of people believe MSG is bad for you. It gives you headaches, a food hangover. That idea's been around for decades. I grew up hearing this. Maybe you did, too. But Jennifer knows this is a myth. In fact, the very next segment on the show is science and food writer Harold McGee saying just that.

At the time, Jennifer was a Ph.D. student, very interested in the way people talk about race and Asian Americans. So to hear that there was once this letter that led Americans to freak out about the dangers of an ingredient commonly used in Chinese food, an ingredient that was later proven totally harmless, Jennifer wanted to see that letter.

At the time, Jennifer was a Ph.D. student, very interested in the way people talk about race and Asian Americans. So to hear that there was once this letter that led Americans to freak out about the dangers of an ingredient commonly used in Chinese food, an ingredient that was later proven totally harmless, Jennifer wanted to see that letter.

So she went into the stacks, found this old journal from the 60s. And there it was, a letter to the editor from a doctor titled Chinese Restaurant Syndrome.

So she went into the stacks, found this old journal from the 60s. And there it was, a letter to the editor from a doctor titled Chinese Restaurant Syndrome.

He runs through the symptoms that he's observed. Then he runs through the possible causes for this strange numbness and eliminates them one by one. Soy sauce, no. Cooking wine, no. And then it gets to the sentence it's going to live on for a half century.

He runs through the symptoms that he's observed. Then he runs through the possible causes for this strange numbness and eliminates them one by one. Soy sauce, no. Cooking wine, no. And then it gets to the sentence it's going to live on for a half century.