"Galactic Gourmet: The Unexpected Sophistication of Earth's Wavy
 Mafaldine Noodles"
**Wavy Mafaldine Noodles**
In the vast, uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the
 western spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small, unregarded yellow sun.
 Orbiting this sun, at a distance of roughly ninety-two million miles,
 is an utterly insignificant little blue green planet whose
 ape-descended life forms are so amazingly primitive that they still
 think digital watches are a pretty neat idea.
On this planet, known to its inhabitants as Earth, there exists a
 culinary curiosity highly regarded by the more sophisticated of these
 primitive beings   the wavy mafaldine noodle.
Mafaldine noodles, or mafalda as they are sometimes affectionately
 shortened to by those who have difficulty pronouncing Italian words
 (which is to say, nearly everyone not of Italian descent), are a type
 of pasta that resembles the wavy, frilly edges of a child's drawing of
 the sun. They fall into the broader classification of ribbon-shaped
 pasta but stand out due to their distinctive ruffled edges, that,
 under certain galactic laws, could technically qualify them as a
 sentient species in the lesser known regions of the Vega system.
Legend has it, and when we say legend we mean a vaguely remembered
 article read somewhere on the Internet, that mafaldine was named in
 honour of Princess Mafalda of Savoy. This is interesting because there
 are very few types of pasta that claim royalty, and even fewer
 princesses that are known to have been commemorated via the medium of
 eggs, flour, and water. This has led to a number of interesting, if
 somewhat bizarre, dinner table conversations on the topic of which
 members of Earth s various royal families would best be represented by
 which type of pasta. Charles III might be penne, for his deep and
 abiding love of architecture   something about the structural
 integrity and the ridges.
However, back to the mafaldine. Its wavy form holds onto sauces with a
 ferocity that would be admired by a Barnard's Star basking shark. The
 ridges in the pasta act like miniature troughs, ensuring that every
 bite is as flavourful as theoretically possible within the confines of
 known physics. This makes it particularly beloved by those individuals
 who consider pasta sauce to be a beverage.
The correct method of consumption remains a topic of heated debate.
 Some advocate for the twirling method, utilising a fork against the
 gravitational pull of a spoon. Others, the more adventurous kind,
 prefer the 'hoover it up and hope for the best' technique, which,
 while messy, is said to maximise the flavour experience by increasing
 the chances of sauce-splatter aroma interaction with the olfactory
 system.
In conclusion, if one ever finds oneself wandering the quaint streets
 of an Earth city in search of gustatory delights, one could do far
 worse than to seek out a dish of wavy mafaldine. Just remember, in
 some corners of the galaxy, wearing your food is considered a sign of
 utmost respect to the chef. On Earth, it's generally just considered
 messy.