Girls Hate Soggy Cereal
By Hayley Birch
It’s the nightmare breakfast scenario. You’ve just introduced your crunchy nut cornflakes to the semi-skimmed, when, in your hurry to join their milky party, you send the sugar bowl sailing over the sideboard. Typical. And before you’ve had chance to sweep up the mess, your toasted flakes of goodness have turned to pulp.Now, here comes the crunch - or not, as the case may be. Do you dive into your cereal undeterred? Or do you turn up your nose and escort the whole sorry, soggy mess to the bin, pronto? The answer, it seems, depends very much on what’s in your underpants. Or, to put it a little less crudely, whether you’re a guy or a girl.
You see, according to the Null’s latest study, aversion to soggy cereal is a trait far more common among women than it is among men. Nearly two thirds of ladies say they loathe limp flakes. One female survey respondent said, “Crunchiness is paramount, so I actually eat all my cereal dry.”
Whilst girls tend to scoff their cereal to avoid sogginess, guys are rather less bothered. Although a third of men claim to hate soggy cereal, just as many – some would say typically – admit that this wouldn’t stop them eating it.
That girls tend to be more particular about the state of their cereal is not surprising, said University of Pennsylvania anthropologist Jane Kauer. “There is rather little written on picky eating and gender, though generally women are, I believe, more picky,” she said. Whilst carrying out her own studies on picky eating at Monell Chemical Senses Center, Kauer found women to be significantly pickier than men, both from their own perspectives, and others’.
The Null’s own results1 are based on a survey of 160 cereal-eaters. When asked what they reckoned to soggy cereal, half selected “Urgh, I eat my cereal in ten seconds flat to avoid such a scenario.” Girls were, however, far more likely to choose this answer than guys.
The female preference for crunchy cereal also, unsurprisingly, leads them to use less milk.
Only 1 in 10 women selected the most generous option for milk usage (“Enough so that the flakes float around like lone islands”) compared to 1 in 5 men.But those women living in fear of soggy cereal needn’t fret. Crunchiness king, Andrew Gray, has invented a cereal bowl that keeps flakes and milk separate. He told the Null, “About 80% of the sales go to North America, where cereal eating is much more prevalent. For those people that like their cereal crunchy it has been a big step forward.”
Your Say
Doesn't everyone hate soggy cereal?
Eric
No me, Eric, I'm a soggy cereal savourer. The more milk the better.Calcium is important stuff if you want to reduce your osteoporosis risk – if you’re a woman who likes their cereal crunchy, take your milk by the side, don’t skip it! (BTW, I loathe and despise soggy cereal with every atom of my body.)
Mark, Bristol
My boyfriend revels in soggy Weetabix. It bugs the hell out of me.
Crunch lover, Dudley
Carina Norris, MSc, RNut
Nab an EatMeCrunchy bowl. More breakfast based stories from the Null:
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Police Avert Banger Threat |
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The Null's Breakfast Podcast |
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Toast Proves There's A God |
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Coffee Thighs Are Slimmer |
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Go on, join our Facebook group. You know you want to.1Our results are significantly significant. And we did the stats to prove it. They're pretty dull, but if you don't believe us, we can send them to you.
Image: Renata Prado
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