Is the death of cereal upon us?

Corn Flakes are one of the most popular breakfast cereals in the world and for countless people it is an integral part of their morning routine.

As I write this article, people around the world are pouring themselves a bowl of Corn Flakes and as they chow down on that first delicious spoonful all their minds are immediately cleansed of any impure thoughts — at least that was John Harvey Kellogg’s original intention.

John Harvey Kellogg was born today in 1852. He invented Cornflakes in 1878 in the hope that plain food would stop people masturbating. — Dan Snow (@thehistoryguy) 26 February 2018

Mr Kellogg, the man who created Corn Flakes, produced the cereal in the late 19th century and marketed it as a “healthy, ready-to-eat anti-masturbatory morning meal”.

He was a Seventh-day Adventist and worked as a physician who staunchly believed in celibacy and that sex was unhealthy and immoral.

Mr Kellogg was such a firm believer that sex was damaging to the mind and body that he slept in a separate room from his wife and never consummated the marriage, choosing instead to adopt all their children.

So if having sex with your wife was bad, then masturbation was just about as sinful as you could get.

“If illicit commerce of the sexes is a heinous sin, self-pollution is a crime doubly abominable,” Mr Kellogg wrote.

In his book, Plain Facts for Old and Young: Embracing the Natural History and Hygiene of Organic Life, he listed some of the damaging symptoms of masturbating, including mood swings, bad posture, acne, epilepsy, palpitations and a fondness for spicy food.

But Mr Kellogg had a solution to all this suffering, believing that meat and rich flavoured foods increased sexual desire, while plain foods like nuts and cereals suppressed it.

With this in mind he set about making a range of plain tasting breakfast foods that would once and for all put a stop to these impure desires, which resulted in the cereal we know and love today — Corn Flakes.

So if you have ever noticed that your thoughts are particularly wholesome while having your morning cereal, then you have Mr Kellogg to thank.