Breakfast is such a familiar part of the daily routine that we assume it's something people have always enjoyed. Doesn't everyone need to refuel after a good night's rest? But the truth is, there's nothing standard about a morning meal. In medieval Europe, eating early in the day was only a necessity for those who worked so early that they had to eat early, or for the elderly and infirm. The great 13th century theologian Thomas Aquinas thought it a sin to eat too early in the day, and eating before morning mass was frowned upon because fasting was a religious observation, and breakfast literally means breaking one's fast.

Historian Ian Mortimer suggests the Tudors invented modern breakfasts in the 16th century as a side-effect of inventing the concept of employment. As people increasingly came to work for an employer, rather than working for themselves on their own land, they lost control of their time, and had to work long, uninterrupted days without sustenance. A big breakfast allowed them to work longer days. The Industrial Revolution and the move from farms to factories formalized the idea of breakfast further, and now it's normal for everyone to eat breakfast before going to work. If we hadn't invented the 9-to-5, we might never have invented breakfast.