In a perfect world, there would be no substitute for a quality product offered at a bargain price. But this is not a perfect world, and a lot of times the only thing between mediocrity and market dominance is the kind of devious plan that would make a supervillain proud.

7 Tricking Doctors into Saying Bacon Is a Healthy Breakfast Food

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Here's something you've probably never wondered: Why are some foods considered "breakfast" foods (pancakes, bacon, eggs) and others not? Why is it weird to eat pancakes for dinner and pizza for breakfast? Well, if what we know about bacon is any indication, it's purely a matter of marketing.

You only have to go back several decades to find a time when bacon for breakfast was about as alien as having a steak for dessert. The entire reason we even consider bacon part of a traditional breakfast is due to the work of one man and a lagging company's desperate attempts to sell their product.

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We will not stand idly by while we tarnish bacon's good name!

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The Deviously Simple Plan:

Edward Bernays, aka the godfather of spin and the forefather of modern PR, was given a simple task: sell bacon like a motherfucker. Bacon seller Beech-Nut Packing realized that sales of their products were slipping and they hired Bernays to fix that. Seeing as this was the same Bernays who convinced women that smoking was totally the best way to stick it to men back in the '30s, they figured he was up to the task.

The Bacon Wiki

Bacon's much easier to sell than lung cancer, though only slightly less deadly.

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His target would be a specific meal: breakfast. Now, at the time, breakfast wasn't considered a big, heavy meal -- it was a cup of coffee and some toast for most people. Bernays needed to convince America that breakfast was Bacon Time.

Being the nephew of the legendary Sigmund "You're always thinking about wangs" Freud, Bernays knew that to a customer, the words of famous spokespeople were nothing compared to the words of a trusted professional. So Bernays approached a doctor with a simple question: Was a hearty breakfast better for a person than a smaller, shittier one?