For better or for worse, food and sex seem to be inextricably linked inside the human psyche. And while today, a vast number of millennials say they would actually choose an "excellent dinner" over some mediocre love-making, it turns out that a popular, campfire-friendly snack was actually invented solely for the purpose of curbing America's overactive libido. Thanks to a new video from Great Big Story, the wholesome, all-American graham cracker is now being seen in a strange, Puritanical light.
According to the clip, nineteenth century minister Sylvester Graham believed that alcohol, meat, and fatty foods led to greed, lust, and uncontrollable sexual desire. Clearly, the dude had never experienced a food coma, but never-the-less he was determined to stamp out these worldly sins with a tasteless cure.
Preaching that bland foods would help stave off sexual appetite, Graham invented his eponymous cracker with flour, wheat germ, and bran. No sugar was used in the original recipe, and the product soon gained a creepy, cult-like following. Grahamites, as the cracker enthusiasts called themselves, remained devoted to the minister's mission for years, though like any hip food trend, the bland cracker's popularity ultimately faded out over time.
When Graham died in 1851, his eponymous cracker finally began to evolve. Nabisco eventually began mass-producing the item, transforming the cardboard-like food into a cookie by sweetened with sugar and honey. Of course, Americans would further desecrate the graham by adding marshmallows and chocolate and sticking the whole thing in hell fire.
[via Great Big Story/YouTube]