The Secret Sexual Origin Of Corn Flakes

Here’s something to make you stop for a second while you mindlessly munch away at your go-to breakfast meal. Did you know that Corn Flakes have a secret sexual origin? They do, and it’s not in the fun, sexy way you might think. In fact, according to a report by the Daily Mail, Corn Flakes were invented to prevent masturbation.

In the late 19th century, John Harvey Kellogg, a physician who was uncomfortable with sex and believed it was “unhealthy for the body, mind, and soul,” created the cereal in order to curb masturbatory tendencies. In case you were wondering, yes, Kellogg was married. No, he never consummated his marriage. Yes, he and his wife didn’t share the same bed, nevertheless, the same room. Would you expect anything less from a guy who created an anti-masturbation cure because he thought sex was unhealthy? Yeah, I didn’t think so.

According to Kellogg’s book, Plain Facts for Old and Young: Embracing the Natural History and Hygiene of Organic Life , masturbation caused symptoms such as epilepsy, acne, poor development, and heart palpitations among others.

The man was so determined in his cause to purge people of their self-pleasuring needs that he even put together a selection of breakfast items that he believed would cure a person. In addition to Corn Flakes, Kellogg invented an enema machine which cleansed the bowels out with water before receiving a pint of yogurt through both the mouth and the anus.

If you think that’s bad, Kellogg’s ideas for masturbation “cures” got much worse. In fact, according to the report, he recommended for girls to apply carbolic acid onto their clitoris in order to burn it. For the guys, he suggested that they thread silver wire through their foreskins in order to prevent erections and cause irritation.

Well, those are some very creative ways to get one to stop masturbating, that’s for sure. Like Kellogg, many people “back in the day” had super conservative and traditional views on sex. As in, if a baby isn’t popping out nine months later, there’s no business in doing it. Because of that, people came up with creative little lies to keep the subject of sex taboo.

Here are eight masturbation myths you may or may not be familiar with. In any case, just know, they aren’t true.

1. Excessive Masturbation Causes Blindness

Here’s a classic old wives tale: masturbation can make you go blind. Many studies done in the past have concluded that is in fact pure BS. According to the Kinsey Institute, in a study of undergrads, 98 percent of men and 44 percent of women reported to masturbating at some point in their lives. If the old wives tale holds any truth, that would mean a whole lot of blind men in the world.

2. It Will Cause You To Grow Hair On The Palm Of Your Hands

Again, 98 percent of men said they’ve masturbated before. I have yet to meet one who has hair growing out of the palm of his hands.

3. Masturbation Can Make You Deaf

Again, 98 percent of men. I get that many guys don’t seem to listen, but deaf? Definitely not.

4. Masturbation Can Make One Of Your Arms Weaker Than The Other

In addition to arms, many people also believe that masturbation can make one of your legs weaker than the other.

5. It Will Make You Impotent Later On In Life

No, it can’t. But according to Everyday Health, if people masturbate frequently, they’ll become too used to a certain touch and might have problems reaching an orgasm because of that.

6. Masturbation Causes Infertility

Some cultures like to scare men and women to believe that masturbating can only lead to infertility. But that’s simply not the case. According to MayoClinic.org, research has found that men who have normal sperm quality maintain that even if they ejaculate every day. So no. Dudes won’t run out of semen or sperm if they happen to be chronic masturbators.

7. It Leads To Mental Illness

Actually that’s not at all true. According to the McKinley Health Center at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, masturbation has proven benefits to one’s mental health like alleviating stress.

8. Masturbation Makes You Gay

Say what? According to Queerty, the whole masturbation-turning-you-gay thing is a religion-based belief.

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