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The history of corn flakes goes back to the late nineteenth century, when a group of Seventh-day Adventists began to develop new food to meet the standards of their strict vegetarian diet. Members of the group experimented with a number of different grains, including wheat, oats, rice, and of course, maize (called "corn" in North America). In 1894, Dr. John Harvey Kellogg, the superintendent of a sanitarium in Battle Creek, Michigan and an Adventist used these recipes as part of a strict vegetarian regimen for his patients, which also included no alcohol, tobacco, or caffeineCaffeine is an alkaloid found naturally in such foods as coffee beans, tea, kola nuts, Yerba mate, guarana, and (in small amounts) cacao beans. It is added to some soft drinks such as colas and Mountain Dew. Caffeine has a characteristic intensely bitter. The diet he imposed consisted entirely of bland foods, since he believed in sexual abstinenceSexual abstinence or chastity is the practice of voluntarily refraining from sexual intercourse and (usually) other sexual activity. The term chastity more frequently implies the application of force or the existence of rules. Sexual abstinence is typical and following the precepts of Sylvester GrahamSylvester Graham ( July 5, 1794 September 11, 1851) was an American reformer notable for his invention of Graham crackers. Sylvester Graham This article is part of the famous people in CAM series. Born in Suffield, Connecticut, he was ordained as a Presby, the inventor of graham crackerThe graham cracker originated in the United States by Rev. Sylvester Graham, a Presbyterian minister, in the early 1800s as a " health food". It was originally made solely with whole-wheat flour, but many modern imitiation Graham crackers contain no wholes and graham breadGraham bread was invented by Sylvester Graham for his vegetarian diet. The Graham bread was high in fiber, made with non-sifted whole wheat flour and was made into little squares we now know as graham crackers. External link .; felt that spicy or sweet foods would increase passions, while cornflakes would have an antiaphrodisiac property. Other features of the sanitarium included exercise sessions and regular enemas, and Kellogg recommended his corn flakes in combination with circumcisionCircumcision can refer to: Female circumcision Male circumcision See also: Medical analysis of circumcision. of males and the application of "pure carbolic acid" on the clitoris of females to prevent masturbation in children. (Plain facts for old and young, 1877).

The idea for corn flakes began by accident when Dr. Kellogg and his brother, Will Keith Kellogg left some cooked wheat to sit, while they attended to some pressing matters at the sanitarium. When they returned, they found that the wheat had gone stale, but being on a strict budget, they decided to continue to process it by forcing it through rollers, hoping to obtain long sheets of the dough. To their surprise, what they got instead was flakes, which they toasted and served to their patients.

The flakes of grain, served with milk, were a very popular food among the patients. The brothers then experimented with other flakes from other grains. In 1906, Will Keith Kellogg, who served as the business manager of the sanitarium, decided to try to mass market the new food and set up his own company, Kellogg's, to do so. Corn flakes was their first marketed product. To increase sales, in 1909 he added a special offer, the Funny Jungleland Moving Pictures Booklet, which was made available to anyone who bought two boxes of the cereal. This same premium was offered for 23 years. At the same time, Kellogg also began experimenting with new grain cereals to expand his product line. Rice Krispies, his next great hit, first went on sale in 1929.