Saturday, September 5, 2026

Question: In 1898, two brothers working at a health spa in Battle Creek, Michigan, helped create a new breakfast food after a batch of wheat dough was accidentally left out and produced flakes when rolled. What breakfast staple grew out of their experiments?

Answer: Corn flakes. Dr. John Harvey Kellogg ran the Battle Creek Sanitarium, where his brother Will worked as his assistant, and the two experimented with easy-to-digest foods for patients. According to company history, an accidentally neglected batch of wheat dough produced thin flakes when rolled and baked; Will later experimented with corn and eventually built the Kellogg cereal business around Corn Flakes.