There's nothing quite as innocent as a child devouring a bowl of cereal in the morning before going to catch the school bus. It's no doubt that Kellogg's Corn Flakes are a breakfast staple for many households across America. There are many recipes that use this deliciously crunchy cereal as breading for chicken or even in desserts. Before you grab your next box of this grocery essential, you may want to know the deep, dark history about how this crunchy treat came to be.

Corn Flakes were first created by John Harvey Kellogg in 1894. His intention for the cereal was not to fill hungry stomachs, but instead to rescue humanity from a plague of debauchery.

Dr. John Harvey Kellogg was a physician in the United States who was very uncomfortable with sex. He believed that it was detrimental to physical, emotional and spiritual well-being.

Continue to the next page to find out his solution to the plague that people faced.

In the late 19th century, Dr. Kellogg made it his duty to try and stop sexual desire after writing several anti-sex books. It was his belief that masturbation in particular, would bring about an onslaught of diseases.

He cataloged 39 different symptoms a person plagued by masturbation would experience, including mood swings, fickleness, bashfulness, boldness, bad posture, stiff joints, acne, palpitations and epilepsy.

Dr. Kellogg was a married man and it was also rumored that even he, abstained from sex with his wife. It was believed that he and his wife kept separate bedrooms, adopted all their children and never even consummated their marriage.

It was his belief that certain foods could help curb the sexual desire of the population.

"He thought that meat and certain flavorful or seasoned foods increased sexual desire, and that plainer food, especially cereals and nuts, could curb it," reported Mental Floss.

While working as superintendent at Michigan's Battle Creek Sanitarium he came up with a few different healthy eating ideas. That's when Dr. Kellogg and his brother, Will who was the sanitarium's bookkeeper, came up with the cereal we all know and love: Corn Flakes.

Will had more of a business sense than his brother and worried that the products wouldn't sell as they were. He wanted to add sugar to the flakes to make them taste better, but John didn't want to hear any of it. Will would eventually start selling the cereal through his business, which would later be known as the Kellogg Company, the brothers continued to feud for decades after, however.

As you may have guessed, Dr. Kellogg's invention did not end up halting pleasure, but is still enjoyed as part of a great start to the day.

Sources: Woman's Day / Mental Floss