19 February 2009

Corn Flake history

On this day, February 19, in 1906, W.K. Kellogg and Charles Bolin incorporated the Battle Creek Toasted Corn Flake Company.

The invention behind the company, the notion that you could sell cereal in the form of toasted flakes suitable a small bowl and softened by milk, had come to Kellogg years before, while he was helping his physician brother run a sanitorium.

One observant guest of the sanitorium in the 1890s was C.W. Post, who was fascinated by the new breakfast idea. C.W. founded Post Cereal in 1895.

It was CW' success that ticked off WK to the point that he left the sanitorium determined to create his own company.

I can't say on the basis of my quite superficial research how Bolin entered the picture. He is usually mentioned as the co-founder but apparently soon dropped out, and the company started calling itself Kellogg.

It seems like a worthy way to be remembered -- marketing inexpensive and nutritous food to the masses. So remember him I do today.

Have a glass of wine with your cornflakes this morning in honor of WK. [Actually, yuuuck. Forget that.]
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1 comment:

Henry said...

People who oppose drug prohibition are boycotting Kellogg's products because of its decision to end its relationship with Michael Phelps because he smoked marijuana. Therefore, have a glass of wine with cornflakes made by another company (unless you've already bought a box of Kellogg's, as I wouldn't see any point in throwing it out).

February 19, 2009 at 11:10 AM

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Pragmatism Refreshed

Knowledge is warranted belief -- it is the body of belief that we build up because, while living in this world, we've developed good reasons for believing it. What we know, then, is what works -- and it is, necessarily, what has worked for us, each of us individually, as a first approximation. For my other blog, on the struggles for control in the corporate suites, see www.proxypartisans.blogspot.com.