To the dismay of almost all of my students ramen noodles are no longer the go to inferior good example.

In a recent study by Michael Gibson-Light, it was revealed that ramen noodles have overtaken cigarettes as the preferred prison currency.  Citing a variety of reasons for the departure of preference, almost all reasons lacked economic foundation.

Does ramen meet our theoretical money criteria? It certainly is durable and portable.  It has uniformity and meets our idea of acceptability but is it divisible?  To en extent yes, but as an astute colleague indicated, it sure must be hard to divide that flavor packet.