Over the last few years I have developed a more strained relationship with General Mills. The American mommy public has been at its mercy its biggest demographic for 62 years. At first, I delighted in setting out little piles of cheerios on the highchair tray for baby to wrangle into his mouth. I laughed hysterically when my 1 year old "helped himself" to breakfast spilling 3/4 of the cheerio box onto the floor and then sat in the middle while stuffing his face. I even bought one of those cheerio dispensers for easy diaper bag packing. But I have been noticing that even though my children are getting older, I am still dealing with this:

I totally understand the messy baby throwing cheerios onto the floor and the mess that creates, but this is different. This is cheerio black magic. This is a serious cheerios problem. I calculate that we have a cheerio bowl loss of in excess of 20%. That makes the ratio of cheerios to tummy vs. cheerios to floor a staggering 5:1. Wow! 1/5 of the cheerios I buy doesn't build a stronger child body. This is a crisis that must be far reaching. So I checked-out Cheerios.com for a loss prevention guide. I figured with a problem this big there would be committees meeting at GM at multiple levels on the mommy's behalf. No, there was not even a mention of this, not a word. This must be the secret that must remained hushed. The information that could bring the company down if recognized. I fear for my safety in exposing this dirty truth.
I then look for motivation, could there be some sort of cheerio conspiracy? Could it be that General Mills have majority stockholder interest in brooms or even fancy vacuums?Could the secret behind the loss be to fuel these other investments? There could be some sort of secret formula inside of the wholesome goodness of cheerios that causes them to jump spontaneously from the bowl. It could be magnetic. It could be a Mexican jumping bean titration. It could be tiny suction cups that time release.I don't know, but it makes you wonder. And wonder. And wonder. Then I wonder about the "kid-tested, mother-approved" General Mills product KIX. I don't know who those mothers were that approved it, but I would have sent the product back to the drawing board until it came back square in shape. The spherical shape flies effortlessly through the air or rolls with ease. This is a picture of 3 rouge KIX that were found yesterday in my living room approximately 35 feet from the closest table. That is a serious distance for a cereal to travel.Need I say more?

18 comments:

slow panic said...

obviously you do not have a beagle in the house. if you did you would never have a cheerio or kix anywhere in sight. if needed, i can send you mine. no, really. he's free.

Jennifer S said...

KIX were on my mind all the way through until you nailed them too! Seriously, were these cereals developed before women hit the workplace in full force? Were there a bunch of men sitting around going, "Well, this one'll really piss off my wife?" Seriously.

cce said...

I'm with Slow Panic, cereal mitigation may be THE only reason to have a dog.

Happy Campers said...

SOOOO true! I'm still fiding Cheerios in the kitchen, living room, playroom, bedroom...from our playdate on Friday!

Tootsie Farklepants said...

KIX are possessed. They somehow make it from the kitchen table into the crevices of my couch. Keep an eye on them.

Courtney said...

You couldn't have been any truer on this. I have banned cheerios for a month before for this very reason.

Jennifer @ Fruit of My Hands said...

I second the vote for a dog.

Christine said...

It's kinda like the old panty-hose built-in obsolescence thing...if 20% of the Cheerios aren't being consumed, the consumer must purchase more to make up for the deficit. GENIUS!

spinning in our own direction said...

Dogs are better than a broom any day. I will gladly let you borrow our little puppy.. He will eat cherrios, the bowl, the table they were on....

KiS said...

ohhh your too funny! cade relocates his cereal all over the house. i'm consantly cleaning but the bits miraculously appear everywhere (along with pieces of toast): toy box, crib, dads sock drawer, tupperware cupboard, nostril...

can i borrow someones dog?

Anonymous said...

While a dog might solve the situation, the main problem remains... STOP BUYING KIX and CHEERIOS!

I pretty much boycott all tiny round cereal since we do not have a dog and I can't stand picking it up off the floor!!!! There is nothing worse than pushing in the kitchen chair and feeling that crunch of the cereal under your foot!

Lynn said...

Serious problem indeed! My dog loved honey nut cheerios as a treat when she was a puppy.

Joan said...

You have Cheerios flying through the air; I have Go-Lean Crunch doing the same exact thing. Isn't it amazing how some things never change even across generational lines?!?!?

Jessica said...

Yes! I, too, thought Cheerios were messy until I bought a box of Kix. You can't even sweep them up. The gentlest stroke of the broom sends them flying to the other side of the house.

Thx for stopping by my blog.

S said...

I HATE Kix.

Damn flyaway puffy things.

Momisodes said...

I was thinking the same thing many of your commenters said...You need the ultimate Hooover... a DOG! No need to haul that heavy dyson around. Puppies act fast and with precision ;)

Burgh Baby said...

It bears repeating: you need a dog. I could not relate to this problem, because food does not actually EVER touch my floor.

Candi said...

Yep, Get a dog! Problem solved!

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