Instant ramen servings consumed worldwide

Facebook's user base and global instant ramen consumption have grown together with the kind of inevitability that suggests a single cosmic plan. Possibly Mark Zuckerberg eats a lot of noodles. More likely, both are simply popular.

Two of the most successful global growth curves of the 21st century, with no shared mechanism. Facebook scaled to billions of users by riding mobile internet expansion in emerging markets, while instant ramen production has grown as a cheap, shelf-stable food in those same emerging markets and beyond. Both products met the planet at the same moment, with similar success.

So the correlation is two of the cheapest mass products on earth, both meeting the same global appetite. One feeds attention. One feeds people.