In Taiwan, this coconut-flavored corn crunch snack, “Be Good”, is considered a lucky thing. Some Taiwanese believe it ensures that high-tech machines work well and do not break down.
Corn crisps have a sacred function in office culture. It can be a mid-morning pick-me-up snack, a light alternative to a sandwich lunch, or fuel to keep the meeting going when it has stretched into mealtime.
But this particular snack brand doesn’t just provide food; in addition, many machines in Taiwan, from ATMs to radio towers, rely on this corn crunch with its green packaging and coconut flavor. Because, those who use it claim to keep these machines in top condition.
Taiwanese see this snack “good boy” as a talisman (or good luck charm). They believe that if “used properly”, the goody snack will ensure that the machine technology works well and does not break down. Now, the goodies are found in and around many local laboratories, banks and even hospitals, making sure the machines run smoothly.
The question is, why is this sweet snack considered to have “mysterious protective powers” in a society that supplies the world with semiconductors and is so technologically advanced? And why would the Taiwanese buy it?
“Goodness”
No one is entirely sure when this little green packet of snacks began to spread through Taiwan’s technology community, claiming that their very existence would ensure that the machines would run well.
In fact, “Goody” was first established in 1968 by founder Liao Chin-kong and his son, Liao Ching-hui, when the company’s original business was the import and manufacture of pharmaceuticals. But the team needed to maintain operations during the off-season, so they started producing snacks and candy.
“Goodies were produced specifically for children. There were no such snacks on the market in Taiwan at that time. The company’s current general manager, Irene Liao, daughter of Ching-Hui Liao, said.
But then, everything changed.
Since the name Good Behavior means “good behavior” in Chinese and in the Taiwanese context. “It means “to obey well. So Good Boy began to attract the attention of graduate students at the university. Since these graduate students were working in the field of science and technology, the story of Goody Boy spread by word of mouth, and the legend of making sure the machine worked well was born.
“It seems to have come from a Taiwanese graduate student who was writing a thesis because his computer kept crashing (crashing). So he thought his computer might need a charm. “Liao Yuqi said.
In fact, no matter what kind of industry, “lucky charms” play an important role in Taiwanese society. Therefore, it is understandable that students think they also need a lucky charm.
The use of green packaging seems to make sense logically. Because, the name is correct (good boy). Furthermore, the green color also represents “smooth passage,” as in the case of traffic lights, where green means passing. This led the graduate students to start putting the green wrapped goodies on the computer.
According to Yuchi Liao, “Students put the green goodies on their computers so they can expect them to work properly and finish their papers in time. “
But even as the company’s general manager, Liao Yu-chi herself needs to trace the origin of Goody’s transformation from a children’s snack to the mysterious product circulating in Taiwan’s technology community. Because what she heard was also third-hand news. As far as she knows, the student was supposed to be in the IT field, and his story with Goody spread through word of mouth, and the myth of Goody was born.
The company said it never “advertised that Goody could provide technical protection. The story developed and spread organically on its own, which meant that people from different industries were able to have their own set of opinions about what kind of machines they thought they should use or when they should use Goody,” Liao said. “
Today, docile is used in Taiwan not only in ATMs, office copiers or servers. Even in hospitals around the world, goodies are placed on machines in order to keep important medical machines such as ventilators running.
At the same time, goodies can also be found at radio transmission sites.
Lionel Leng, an engineer who has been working for an international radio station in Taipei since the 1990s, doesn’t remember when it all started, let alone who started it. But he says he started using Goody because he had seen other professionals do it: “I saw them put Goody on the machine, and then I asked the other engineers what it was, and they told me, ‘Oh, that’s Goody. ‘Oh, that’s a good boy, which means listen to me or obey,’ so put the good boy on the machine and the latter will work well. ” he said.
Rules of use
Despite this “organic” development of the role of goodies in Taiwan’s technology, there are strict rules governing which goodies to use.
Currently, the Goody package comes in three colors, with two other flavors in addition to the green package. The yellow package (representing the spiced savory flavor) and the red package (chocolate flavor). However, as we all know, only the green packaging can be used on the machine. “Yellow and red are both warning colors,” Leung explained.
In addition, overdue goodies lose their effectiveness and are also banned from use. Mr. Leung said that the goodies are usually replaced twice a year, at the beginning of the Lunar New Year and during the middle of the seventh month of the lunar calendar, commonly known as the “ghost month”. And don’t even think about thinking that as long as the bag of goodies exists, it’s okay. People in the technology industry say that the goodies placed on the machine can not be used to eat, or the magic of the goodies to protect the machine will disappear.
In fact, not only in the technology industry, other industries in Taiwan also rely on the good luck brought by goodies.
Liao Yu-chi said that when artistic performers go abroad to perform, the goodies will also go abroad with their luggage because the performers need to make sure that their musical instruments and equipment are protected.
Peter Hsu, who has an advanced degree in photonic technology, said that when he was a graduate student, he could see many bags of goodies in the lab. I don’t know if people really believe that being good will prevent machine failure, but everyone does it for the reason that it doesn’t hurt,” he says. “
Ambiguous space
Traces of goodies even appear in Taiwan’s most important research unit, the Academia Sinica.
Researcher Renjie Ding, who studies religion as well as social psychology, confirmed that technicians at the institute have been posing obediently in the institute since 2002.
Dr. Ding, who researches at the Institute of Nationalities, told the BBC that being obedient reflects several social trends: it is something everyone wants to try, and because everyone else is doing it, it is not seen as illogical. Therefore, it can be treated as some kind of “ritual” that everyone is doing. There is a real fear that without good behavior, the machine might actually break down or die: “Some people might believe it, some people might not, but we think there is a lot of ambiguity between what is credible and what is not, and that is why this behavior continues to exist. reason. “Ding Renjie analyzed.
Yu-Chi Liao says she is very grateful for the products developed by her father and grandfather, which continue to be loved in the workplace in Taiwan. In particular, rumors that the pack has some sort of power in the tech world have also helped the brand continue to exist and grow. “Taiwan should be the only place in the world where snacking has become some sort of cultural phenomenon. I haven’t seen anything like it happening anywhere. ” she stressed.
Even though she knows that only a small portion of Goody’s is taken for consumption on work occasions, Liao Yuqi will not ignore the taste and quality of Goody’s. Because, as she said, as a snack, Goody was produced to be “eaten.
Recent Comments