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greed-man OP t1_j1risso wrote

Reply to comment by BillTowne in TIL Kellogg's Corn Flakes were invented by accident. A batch of wheat based dough was left out overnight by accident, started to ferment, so Will Kellogg decided to roll it to see if this would squeeze the water out. Instead, they got wheat flakes. Corn Flakes was the real winner. by greed-man

Yes. They developed flaking by accident. They tried marketing wheat flakes, it did okay, but not great, but when they developed corn flakes, the process became the dominant method for many cereals. Years later, after the success of Wheaties, Kellogg's circled back to wheat flakes with Pep in 1924, and then "fortified" them with vitamins starting in 1930.

Wheaties, in turn, had been developed also by accident, when a plant worker spilled a wheat mixture on a hot stove. They played with many different formulations, finally got what they wanted, and named it Washburn's Gold Medal Whole Wheat Flakes. The name was changed to Wheaties later, after an in-house contest for the best name.

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