Kellogg's cereals were born as part of Dr. John Harvey Kellogg’s late nineteenth-century spa treatments at his Battle Creek Sanitarium in southwestern Michigan. Much has been made of his efforts to steer patients away from impure sexual thoughts by eating processed grain products for breakfast. The cereal was also intended to perform a daily colon cleanse and deal with constipation and dyspepsia (indigestion), common ailments of the day. With time, cold breakfast cereals like Kellogg’s made it easier to serve and eat healthful foods when there wasn't time for cooked grains like oatmeal. That was especially true as new home iceboxes and eventually refrigerators made it possible to store milk for longer periods and processed sugar became cheaper to produce.

      Fast forward to the year 2000. Once revered breakfast cereals have become villainized for their sugar and calorie content. Now food giant Kellogg’s has to find new markets for their massive processed, flavored, and sugared grain output. One not so good idea was called Snack ‘ums. They were supersized chunks of Froot Loops, Corn Pops, and Rice Krispies Treats in cans small enough to hold in your hand (see photograph above – Snack ‘ums can is not included with this item). The idea was to eat the cereal straight out of the can without the bother of milk. Food technicians even dusted the chunks with a lighter sugar coating to eliminate sticky fingers. The problem was that milk has always been the best part of a cereal breakfast, far healthier than the cereal itself. "We're taking cereal to new places," explained Kellogg’s CEO Carlos Gutierrez at the time, but the garbage can was not a new place. He was the one who had just pulled the plug on another “great” Kellogg's idea, Breakfast Mates, which combined a bowl, spoon, milk and cereal in one package. Mates failed to catch on because it was impossible (and not safe) to eat while driving.

      And guess what? Gutierrez pulled the plug on Snack ‘ums just three years later because of health concerns and comedians’ jokes. That makes this gorilla character (we don’t think he ever was named) with a tie-dyed Snack ‘Ums t-shirt an orphan. Very few copies of him were ever produced and distributed. Kellogg’s had previously used gorillas to advertise corn flakes and Coca Krispies, but those characters never had the tie-dyed shirt and also had different looking faces. This fellow was new original stock (NOS) from Kellogg’s Cereal City USA tourist attraction in Battle Creek, MI. and was stored bagged and very, very clean since 2003. It measures about 8.5 inches (20.5 cm) long, 11 inches (27 cm) wide, and 6 inches (18 cm) deep, so he is a big guy but a nice fit for any lap.

      It would be a must-have addition to any deep Kellogg’s collection (you know who you are if you have a Vanessa William’s corn flakes box). He is also soft, cuddly, and cute, well made in China for a North Carolina company called Sasco that also made Tony the Tigers and other Kellogg’s plush toys. Cuddle up with it and think of all of those calories you did not consume by not knowing about Snack 'ums. And if you liked Snack ‘ums, well they’re still available at grocers today as “Jumbo Snax” but in pouches and boxes, not environmentally unsound cans. Shipped insured. Check out our other Kellogg’s collectibles at www.ebay.com/str/agitpropshoppe

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