1. Home
  2. Health
  3. Sexuality
photo of Cory Silverberg
Sexuality Blog

By Cory Silverberg, About.com Guide to Sexuality since 2005

100 Years of Fighting Masturbation, One Spoonful at a Time

Monday February 20, 2006

Yesterday was the 100th anniversary of Kellogg’s Corn Flakes™. Corn Flakes™ were created by John Harvey Kellogg, a Michigan doctor who was a nutritionist, vegetarian, and big time anti-sex crusader. He developed Corn Flakes™ as a way of curbing masturbation tendencies in boys, which he so eloquently described in Plain Facts for Old and Young (1882):

In solitude he pollutes himself, and with his own hand blights all his prospects for both this world and the next. Even after being solemnly warned, he will often continue this worse than beastly practice, deliberately forfeiting his right to health and happiness for a moment’s mad sensuality.

I’m pretty sure he didn’t mean “mad sensuality” is a good way, although I think it has an erotic ring to it. Fortunately for all of us, Corn Flakes™ taste a lot better than it “works.”

Times Online - Birthday of one mighty flake . . . and a cereal too

Read More – Key Events in Masturbation History

Comments

No comments yet. Leave a Comment

Leave a Comment

Line and paragraph breaks are automatic. Some HTML allowed: <a href="" title="">, <b>, <i>, <strike>

Explore Sexuality
About.com Special Features

Learn how you can reduce your your numbers with these nutrition and exercise tips. More >

Keep yourself, and your family, happy and healthy this fall with these tips. More >

  1. Home
  2. Health
  3. Sexuality

©2009 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company.

All rights reserved.