The secret sex lives of Snap, Crackle...

The secret sex lives of Snap, Crackle and Pop: Santa Monica College student Susan Vaughn found some scandalous reading about corn flakes in a textbook, “Abnormal Psychology.”

Author Spencer Rathus notes that, in 1882, Dr. J. H. Kellogg wrote “Plain Facts,” a 504-page sex manual asserting that “certain foods, especially coffee, ‘had stimulating effects that could excite the sex organs.’ ”

As a countermeasure, Kellogg “recommended ‘unstimulating’ grains (and) from such convictions sprang the origins of breakfast cereals composed of corn flakes.”

Younger brother W. K. Kellogg, inspired by J. H.’s theories, established his corn flake empire and, later, donated his ranch to Cal Poly Pomona.

“I read this while I ate breakfast--honest,” Vaughn said. “I didn’t have any corn flakes.”

Where’s the rest of us?Some residents of Venice have talked about seceding from L.A., but a much bigger portion of the population of Los Angeles seems to have revolted, judging from a new sign downtown near the corner of 4th and Olive streets (see photo).

Guess we won’t be seeing Westside City Council members Zev Yaroslavsky or Ruth Galanter at City Hall anymore since their districts are outside the “city limits.” And the Grand Central Market is now in the downsized city’s new West L.A., which is apparently why an espresso and cappuccino stand opened there.

Told of the sign, a city Department of Transportation official said it appears to be a mistake and promised to investigate. “It’s possible it’s supposed to be a Civic Center sign,” he said.

Even if that’s true, we hope the Grand Central continues to offer espresso and capuccino, despite what the Kellogg brothers would have said.

Your tax dollars at work for you: The Diamond Bar/Walnut News Gazette reports that the members of the Diamond Bar Planning Commission are considering riding “the Budweiser blimp out of Ontario in order to review (development) projects in Tonner Canyon.”

Ay, caramba!The guests at the wedding reception of Sam Cuellar and Sandra Chang were delighted when a mariachi band showed up at Whittier’s Ritz Banquet Center, even if it was a tad late. But when the musicians took a break, they discovered they were at the wrong bash--they were supposed to be playing at a wedding fiesta down the hall. It turned out that the other groom had a name that sounded like Cuellar.

miscelLAny:

One Los Angeles native pardoned by President Carter was Iva Toguri D’Aquino, who was convicted of committing treason during World War II and spent six years in prison after returning to the United States. D’Aquino claimed that she’d been trapped in Japan while visiting and forced to make propaganda broadcasts to U.S. troops. She was better known as Tokyo Rose.