Who invented the idea of cold bread soup for breakfast?!

Beth, age 10, getting thoughtful over a bowl of cereal and milk.

It is a little odd if you think about it. We looked it up, and those early days were odder than I expected:

The first prepared cold cereal, called Granula, was invented around 150 years ago by a religiously conservative vegetarian named James Jackson who ran a medical sanitarium in upstate New York. One of the Kellogg brothers, a surgeon, later made a version called Granola for his own vegetarian, fresh-air, hydrotherapy sanitarium in Battle Creek, Michigan. (source) Trademarks were registered for both Granula and Granola, though these are now defunct. I mean, nobody would get those two products confused, right? Totally different.

By the early 1900s, the Kellogg brothers had developed corn flakes. Charles Post, once a patient at the Kelloggs sanitarium, launched his own version of Granola called Grape-Nuts. He also created a version of corn flakes called Elijah’s Manna, but had to change its name after outcry from religious groups. It became Post Toasties. I admit I first read the name as Elijah’s Mama and wondered what kind of woman she was. 

Also, it’s kind of funny that Kelloggs stole the idea for granola from someone else, and then someone stole the idea for corn flakes from them. Corporate intellectual property shenanigans among cereal startups!

Then, in the 1930s: “The Ralston Purina company introduced an early version of Wheat Chex, calling it Shredded Ralston. It was intended to feed followers of Ralstonism, a strict, racist social movement that included a belief in controlling the minds of others.” (source) The word “Ralston” is an acronym for Regime, Activity, Light, Strength, Temperation, Oxygen, and Nature. Led by a man named Webster Edgerly, there were over 800,000 “Ralstonites” who “bought Edgerly's books and health-food products, followed his strict dietary prescriptions, and did bizarre physical exercises to attain ‘personal magnetism,’ which Edgerly promised would give them control over the thoughts of others. Edgerly was also a strong proponent of eugenics and saw his followers as the founding members of a new race free from ‘impurities.’” (source) So, basically, Chex was created for a racist pseudo-religious medical quack who believed in mind control. I wonder if that knowledge changes the taste?

The human food business of Ralston Purina eventually included Wonder Bread and Twinkies. In the 1990s, the brands of cereals made by Ralston (including Chex and Cookie Crisp) were sold to General Mills, and Ralston exited the cereal industry. Then, in the early 2000s, Ralston, now called Ralcorp, returned to the cereal business by acquiring Post. I guess they just couldn’t stay away.

History is weird.

The Story of Ralstonism, One of History's More Bizarre Health Movements

There was no shortage of health and wellness movements at the turn of the 20th century. One of them was Ralstonism, a completely made-up set of rules for living that was promoted by by one Webster Edgerly, who also went by the name Everett Ralston. He walked on the balls of his feet and never […]

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The Story of Ralstonism, One of History's More Bizarre Health Movements | At the turn of the last century, author Webster Edgerly advised readers to achieve optimal wellness by never walking in a straight line and never marrying a woman less than 20 years their junior.... https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/610426/ralstonism-history-health-movement

The History of the Ralstonism Health Movement | Mental Floss

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At the turn of the last century, author Webster Edgerly advised readers to achieve optimal wellness by never walking in a straight line and never marrying a woman less than 20 years their junior.