For decades, Wheaties has been an all-time-favorite breakfast food. It is marketed as the "Breakfast of Champions," one of the most celebrated of all advertising slogans. Since the 1930s, it has been linked to athletics and accomplishment. It seems that whenever an athlete with a likable personality wins a gold medal at the Olympics (see entry under 1900s—Sports and Games in volume 1) or tosses touchdowns in the Super Bowl, he or she is featured on Wheaties packaging. In fact, the line "He didn't eat his Wheaties today" has long been used to describe youngsters who fall short on the ball field.

The cereal's beginnings date to 1921, when a Minnesota health care professional accidentally spilled some bran gruel on a hot stove, transforming the mixture into a crispy flake. He brought the flake to the Washburn Crosby Company, the precursor of General Mills, which currently produces and markets...