Corn Flakes were invented by John Harvey Kellogg, who believed bland foods like cereals could help reduce sexual urges as part of his strict health reform ideology.
The Bizarre Anti-Sex Origins of Corn Flakes
Every morning, millions of people pour a bowl of Corn Flakes without any idea that they're eating cereal designed to suppress their libido. The man behind this crunchy breakfast staple, John Harvey Kellogg, had some very specific ideas about what your morning meal should do to your body.
The Doctor with a Mission
John Harvey Kellogg wasn't just an inventor—he was a physician, health reformer, and director of the Battle Creek Sanitarium in Michigan. A devout Seventh-day Adventist, Kellogg believed that most diseases stemmed from unhealthy diets and, crucially, sexual excess.
In his 1877 book Plain Facts for Old and Young, Kellogg outlined his views in uncomfortable detail. He considered masturbation and sexual arousal to be the root causes of everything from acne to epilepsy. His solution? A regimen of bland foods, exercise, and fresh air.
Why Bland Food?
Kellogg subscribed to the popular Victorian belief that rich, flavorful foods—especially meat and spices—inflamed the passions. The logic went like this:
- Spicy, stimulating foods aroused the senses
- Aroused senses led to sexual urges
- Sexual urges led to moral and physical decay
The answer, Kellogg reasoned, was to create foods so boring, so utterly devoid of excitement, that they would calm the body's urges. Enter the corn flake.
An Accidental Discovery
In 1894, Kellogg and his brother Will Keith were experimenting with boiled wheat at the sanitarium. They accidentally left a batch sitting out, and when they rolled it through their machine, it came out as flat flakes instead of dough. They toasted the flakes, and the modern breakfast cereal was born.
The patients at Battle Creek loved them. Kellogg saw this as a victory for his health philosophy—finally, a food that was nutritious, easy to digest, and thoroughly unsexy.
The Brother Who Added Sugar
Here's where the story takes a turn. Will Keith Kellogg saw commercial potential in the flakes, but he wanted to add sugar to make them tastier. John Harvey was horrified—sugar was exactly the kind of stimulating ingredient he'd been fighting against.
The brothers split bitterly. Will went on to found the Kellogg Company in 1906, adding sugar and building a breakfast empire. John Harvey continued his crusade at the sanitarium, forever resentful that his health food had been corrupted into something enjoyable.
A Legacy More Complex Than the Box
Kellogg's beliefs extended far beyond breakfast. He advocated for yogurt enemas, promoted circumcision as a deterrent to masturbation, and ran a sanitarium that attracted celebrities like Henry Ford and Amelia Earhart. His views on eugenics and race have also drawn criticism from historians.
Today, Corn Flakes are just another cereal option in a crowded aisle, their origins sanitized on colorful boxes featuring a friendly rooster. But every bland flake carries the legacy of a man convinced that the path to moral purity started with the most boring breakfast imaginable.
So the next time you crunch through a bowl, remember: you're eating cereal that was literally designed to make you less interested in sex. Whether that's working is another question entirely.
