Cereal: the caffeine of the 1940s

The women and children of the 1940s were pathetic, weren't they? So tired and listless that even a bowl of Cream of Rice would pep them up. When did cooked cereal stop being a jump-start, kick-in-the-pants energy giver, and start being a stick-to-the-ribs, gut-loading comfort food? After 1949, at least--that's when the Cream of Rice ad came out (the oatmeal ad is from 1947; I thought the fatigued lady was holding her head, but maybe she's saluting the Quaker Oats man).

What I love in these ads is the insistence on how quickly processed cereals digest. Because God knows if you have to wait half an hour for your cereal to kick in, you're going to end up face down in the street with tire tracks across your back. "New life begins to pour into the system in a few minutes! Gives more energy!" Were women and children in a constant state of collapse in the 40s, or what?

I also love the footnote in the Cream of Rice ad saying that you can get data supporting their claims "upon professional request." We can't let just anyone in on the secrets of Cream of Rice, now can we?

As always, click 'em to biggen 'em.