Reason cornflakes were invented will put you off more than your breakfast
Dr Kellogg had some VERY strange ideas
Golden corn flakes (Image: Pixabay)
WARNING: THIS ARTICLE FEATURES MATERIAL OF A SEXUAL NATURE
Millions of people around the world start their day with a bowl of cornflakes... but it seems they may have been invented in a bid to stop people from indulging in an activity Victorians considered to be a sin.
The crunchy cereal's creator, Dr John Harvey Kellogg, believed that modern diets led people to commit what he considered to be "carnal sins".
"Highly seasoned [meats], stimulating sauces... and dainty tidbits in endless variety irritate [the] nerves and… react upon the sexual organs," wrote Dr Kellogg.
And so, in 1894, he created the corn flake - and it was supposed to be healthy and deliberately bland, because Dr Kellogg believed a diet based on bland foods like cereal would lead Americans away from sin.
And one very specific 'sin' in particular.
*Stop reading now if you're easily offended*
And that sin is...
Masturbation.
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Dr Kellogg was was the director of the Battle Creek Sanitarium in Michigan, which was founded by members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church - and, according to Forbes, "he wrote as much about the dangers of sex and masturbation as he did about healthy living".
"Cereal was the bridge; the dietetic remedy to keep Americans' diets from leading them to sin," says Forbes. "They had no sugar or added flavors, and they were so tough that they often cracked people's teeth."
Indeed, Dr Kellog was so horrified by onanism that he also promoted male circumcision as a way to stop young boys from indulging in the activity - and he circumcised himself at the age of 37 for this very reason.
And he also encouraged female circumcision - through "application of pure carbolic acid to the clitoris an excellent means of allaying the abnormal excitement".
Given those choices, it's perhaps no wonder corn flakes became so popular...
They have, however, changed greatly from Dr Kellogg's day.
"Few people today would eat Kellogg's corn flakes," says Forbes. "They had no sugar or added flavors, and they were so tough that they often cracked people's teeth."
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Indeed, it was his brother William who founded the Kelloggs Company and created the corn flakes we now know and love - by adding an ingredient Dr Kellogg despised.
William launched a convenience food that succeeded because he added sugar, and by the 1940s all major cereal companies pre-coated their cereals with sugar - and Dr Kellogg's vision for a deliberately bland breakfast that would help people to curb their sexual urges, was lost forever.
And, ironically, whole grain breakfast cereals can be an excellent source of zinc - which is now known to be vital to the development and function of the male sex organs.