Corn Flakes were originally created to ‘clear the mind of sinful thoughts’.
Anti-sex campaigner Mr Kellogg believed that a bland and plain diet was the key to stop people masturbating
The bland cereal was designed to put people off sex and discourage them from pleasuring themselves, according to Kate Devlin’s new book, Turned On: Science Sex and Robots.
The book, which explores how robots could shape our sex lives, also describes how sex was a touchy subject for John H. Kellogg, the brains behind the household breakfast cereal in the late 1800s.
Mr Kellogg, a physician, Seventh-Day Adventist and anti-sex campaigner, believed that the key to curing pleasure cravings was through a bland and “healthy” diet designed to “reduce such urges”.
He 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.
And he thought self-love was even worse, writing: “If illicit commerce of the sexes is a heinous sin, self-pollution is a crime doubly abominable.”
He claimed symptoms of masturbating including mood swings, bad posture, acne, epilepsy, palpitations and a fondness for spicy food.
Keen to stop the public from touching themselves, he went into business with his brother William to sell the tasteless breakfast dish.
“Having visited a Corn Flakes factory, I can confirm that it was one of the least arousing places I have ever been,” writes Kate.
Kellogg reckoned that plain foods would help patients resist the urge to have sex, so he came up with two different cereals.
One of his “health treats” was oatmeal and corn meal baked biscuits called “granola” and the other was corn flakes.
Kellogg’s Corn Flakes have been a family favourite ever since.
