172

Cereal
Posted on October 8, 2012 by David M Willis

172 thoughts on “Cereal”

  1. Sir Robin

    I agree with Dina

    1. Doctor_Who

      Me too.

      1. Maycroft

        The world according to Dina.

    2. Chug

      1. She’s right. 2. It’s not strange to begin with, lots of new college students live off cereal.

      1. Shadlyn Wolfe

        Until the scurvy sets in.

      2. TacosForever

        No kidding. Suddenly, when I got to college, THE WORLD OF SUGARY CEREAL WAS MINE. It took me a while to stop having sugary cereal and/or soda at every meal. Probably it stopped feeling so awesome because the scurvy was setting in. Or the diabetes.

        1. Volkai

          Or because if you have the same one delicious thing over and over for long enough it stops being so delicious and then you have to mix tihngs up for it to continue being delicious.

        2. Somebody

          Sugar doesn’t cause diabetes and a lot the grains are fortified. It’s not like you can’t have a glass of orange juice with it.

        3. Narf

          “Sugar doesn’t cause diabetes”

          Naw, a’course not. Finish your pie and ice cream now, and don’t worry about the tingling numbness in your foot. It’ll subside.

        4. Stephen

          Sugar, does not cause diabetes. Coming from a type 1 diabetic of going on 15 years, the over indulgence of people and gluttony cause type 2 diabetes, that or other diseases which affect the organs of patients. Type 1 diabetes is genetic, and is actually an immunological disorder.

      3. Gordon Blvd

        I lived solely on Personal Pan Pizza and Snapple my first two years ……………..

        1. Roborat

          Are you still able to eat that?

  2. Wack'd

    Dina’s going to gradually become morbidly obese over the course of the comic.

    1. brasca1

      I’d argue that it depends on the cereal, but in this case it looks like Fruity Pebbles so I’m afraid I must agree although so far she must have remarkably good metabolism. That being said it’s not harmful to others so it still works.

      1. Regalli

        My brother once did a science fair project measuring the iron in cereal. Somehow, this ended up with the house finding out how much fat’s in Fruity Pebbles.

        It was kinda terrifying.

        1. Mindset

          What, 1 gram of fat terrifies you?

        2. Pyr05

          YES. O.M.G. Do you know how much that is?!?

        3. Historyman68

          Shylock does.

        4. Raen

          1 gram of fat in cereal? Yeah, that’s a little scary.

        5. Mindset

          Per serving? When Cinnamon Toast Crunch has 3.5g per serving… that’s not scary at all.

          (Of the other cereals in my pantry right now, Fruit and Cream oatmeal has 2g of fat per serving and Rice Chex has 0g.)

        6. das-g

          One gram per box or one gram per piece?

        7. Jim

          How about 50 carbs per bowl, post metabolism? I think that was what the Science Fair Family discovered, after 50 boxes of the stuff?

          Come on people! Learn the Tricarboxylic Acid Cycle and you won’t be slobs!!
          http://tinyurl.com/y8pba36

      2. Rowen Morland

        She might only eat cereal but she might not eat that much of it.

      3. John Harmon

        Just because someone doesn’t gain weight from constantly eating unhealthy, doesn’t mean they’re not doing damage to their body.

        1. Raen

          Indeed. My first thought wasn’t weight gain, but vitamin deficiencies.

        2. PinkiePiecrust

          Same. I almost killed myself in my first semester of University eating nothing but baked beans and toast.

        3. DeNarr

          But at least cereal has all the supplemental vitamins added to them.

        4. Charles RB

          Also, teeth rot

        5. fatemaster1

          Proper oral hygiene would prevent that.

    2. DaJoshMaster

      Needs more caramel!

      1. TacosForever

        Your avatar is especially appropriate here.

    3. Somebody

      Grains don’t make you fat. That’s a lie we’ve been fed way too long. Adding growth hormones can, but not regular grains.

  3. Wonder Wig

    Obviously… it’s Fruity Pebbles.

    1. Jetstream

      Looks like Trix to me. Old school trix, before they made them fruit shapes.

      1. taekwondogirl

        They’re back to being balls. I grew up with them as shapes (80s kid) and I tried them. Can’t do it. Can’t eat fruity balls.

        1. Jim

          How would you have felt about “Trix! Now with Sweaty Pheromones!”
          Or did you finally stop doing Trix?

          (man… this is a gold mine for double entendres and bad jokes!)

      2. Yotomoe

        or like…captain crunch…

        1. taekwondogirl

          Yellow, orange, green, blue and red. The yellow are also in ball shape as opposed to the weird rectangular thing.

        2. Pyr05

          soggies may rule.

        3. Cody

          8(

        4. Drunken Nordmann

          I’ve never really understanded the thing about soggies. They were mentioned in Shortpacked! a few times but I don’t really get it.
          Can I have an explaination, please?

        5. Roborat

          Old Captain Crunch commercials. They don’t get soggy in milk you see. Of course, they don’t tell you that they will cut your gums, and glue themselves to your teeth.

    2. Wack'd

      It can’t be Fruity Pebbles. Dina would never put up with that sort of historical inaccuracy.

  4. David Herbert

    Don’t listen to her Dina, Froot Loops are awesome. Or whatever it is you’re eating.

  5. Jetstream

    Yay! Diabetus?

    1. Nerdman

      *glares* Diabetes doesn’t work that way. It never works that way! As a diabetic myself, I am sick of-

      Oh, wait. You were talking about Type 2 Diabetes, caused by obesity. Right, sorry for the trouble. I’ll just go back into my corner.

      1. Pyr05

        -puts up sign “beware the angry type 1 diabetic” near corner-

      2. Doom shepherd

        Type 2 is not caused by obesity! I, my father and uncle have it, and we’re all skinny as f***!

        1. begbert2

          I *can* be caused by obesity though, and that’s a common aggravator of the condition. It helps to be genetically predisposed to it too, of course, but I’ve actually both caused and reverted my type two diabetes by gaining and then losing the weight.

          So why does your family have it, then? God probably just hates you. Likeliest explanation.

        2. begbert2

          And by the omission of one character I have revealed myself as being a deadly disease. Hopefully the AMA doesn’t find out.

        3. Jim

          I just want to know if you’re contagious! Or of you are a large, bacon-type sandwich of some sort, that includes pancakes & syrup. If you are the latter, you’re going to find love… especially in the Southern Redneck States!

      3. Jetstream

        Soo… you just wanted to pretend to be mad for a second?

        1. Nerdman

          Pretty much. That is what the Internet is for in the first place.

  6. Pyr05

    Dina has the best philosophy. Do what you like. More specifically, eat what is best, regardless of what others may think about it. If that means lovin’ some dinosaurs and eating cereal all day, then good for her!

    1. fatemaster1

      Screw societal standards! These people are slaves to the system! I prefer to be free!

  7. qka

    Cereal isn’t nutritionally complete. But if all you are going to eat is cereal, then be sure to add milk, for protein. And eat some Raisin Bran, for fiber.

    1. Ziaheart

      That’s what I was worried about the most, rather than Dina going fat.

      But thank you for giving me ideas on how to make cereal more complete nutrition-wise. I LOVE cereal.

      1. Broggly

        I’ve been spending too much time on 4chan. I was bracing myself to read someone write fanfiction describing in detail the effects of eating nothing but fruity pebbles on Dina’s regularity.

        1. Roborat

          I was speculating on the colours that would result.

    2. Vex Godglove

      Make it Total Raisin Bran and you also get all your vitamins.

    3. Historyman68

      I love to put massive amounts of fruit in my cereal or oatmeal. That makes it way more delicious. And um nutritious.

      1. Jim

        “PART OF A COMPLETE BREAKFAST!”
        .
        Where the COMPLETE comes from all the OTHER parts!

        1. TacosForever

          Except whenever I saw images of cereal in commercials as part of a “complete breakfast”, I was like, “HOLY SHIT who eats all that for one meal?!” Am I the only one?

    4. fatemaster1

      I mix all my cereal together and eat it with chocolate milk and brown sugar for just that very reason!

  8. Boy Blunder

    It’s okay, Dina. I feel the same way.

  9. Yotomoe

    I enjoy cereal as much as the next guy, unless that next guy is Dina.

    1. Yotomoe

      Or any cereal mascot really…

    2. Doctor_Who

      I guess that depends on how much you enjoy the next guy.

      1. Valdrax

        Depends. Are you serving him with skim milk, whole milk, or 2%?

        1. Wonder Wig

          I enjoy Dina as much as cereal enjoys the next guy.

        2. Ziaheart

          … terrified of being eaten?

        3. Wixvhen

          Toaster pastries? Where?

        4. Ancestral Hamster

          None of the above. Alfredo sauce.

        5. Cronomatt

          That poor Alfredo! Why would you do that to him?

        6. Wonder Wig

          Alfredo Boy is my sidekick! Don’t eat him.

        7. GrrArg42

          RUN! Get back to the Cereal Cave!

        8. molochmachine

          Don’t worry, it’s the other sauce.

  10. Doctor_Who

    Willis, stop going back in time to observe my habits in college and then basing Dina on them.

    It’s not my fault! They had Count Chocula and Lucky Charms!

    1. Yotomoe

      Count Luckula.

      1. Pyr05

        Lucky Count Chocula’s Charms

        1. Undrave

          Sounds filthy.

        2. Wixvhen

          They’re always after my succulent charms?

        3. Pyr05

          Don’t beat around the bush; it sounds like a porno title

        4. Undrave

          So does ‘Don’t beat around the bush’.

        5. Drunken Nordmann

          ‘Beating around the bush II – Return of the bush’?

        6. Parismio

          Lol ow my sides are gone.

        7. molochmachine

          Bush Harder

        8. Doom shepherd

          County Charmkula.

    2. Wack'd

      Man, when I was a kid, I was only allowed to have junk cereal in August. It was Junk Cereal Month. I would pick a box, my sister would pick a box, and we’d agree on a third.

      The problem with this system was that it meant I never had any monster cereal. Ever.

      So now that I’m in college I can finally find out what all the fuss is about over Chocula and Frankenberry and Booberry. They’re pretty good, but not particularly filling as far as breakfast is concerned. Mostly I just snack on ’em.

  11. Nearphotison

    Cereal is only best if you’re choosing on taste. It can’t be the healthiest option, even in a college cafeteria.

    1. Darkflame

      Muesli and Greek/thick Yogurt ? That would be fairly hard to beat, especially if its got some fruit chopped up in it.

  12. Mkvenner

    Why does this make me think of the song strange fruit?

  13. Resne

    Insanity is sometimes being the sane one of all the insane people.

  14. Barf Ninjason

    Amber’s comment in the last panel seems like it could be written on a shirt at a Hot Topic in an alternate universe where everything is more depressing.

    1. Yotomoe

      Wow…the thought that there’s an alternate universe that’s more depressing is in and of itself pretty depressing

      1. Barf Ninjason

        But thoughts of happier universes cheer up the depression universe, so the cosmic balance goes on.

        1. Pyr05

          Thoughts that there are happier universes in the depression universe make them suicidal that they’re in the depressed universe.

        2. Wixvhen

          There exists a universe where obesity was replaced with super powers. It was the body’s coping mechanism for the extra energy! Then again, in another universe, obesity became immolation. Hm…

        3. Nerdman

          …Anyone else suddenly want to go watch Sliders? Or Fringe?

        4. Cronomatt

          YES.

        5. Darkflame

          Or Spellbinder
          (what? old childrens shows rock!)

    2. lauren

      I can accept the option of a more depressing alternate universe, but a more depressing Hot Topic??!? That has to be rough…

  15. Alabaster

    So… Dina’s gonna get scurvy.

    1. A bunch of hungry orphans

      Yarr.

    2. Bekah

      Looks like she’s eating Fruit Loops or something to me.

      That’s got fruit in it.

      Sort of.

    3. Valdrax

      Unless she drinks some OJ with that or takes a multi-vitamin, you are correct sir. Many kids cereals have no vitamin C, and milk is very low in it.

      You’re also looking at a shortage of E & K. Vitamin E deficiencies are very rare due to Vitamin E being widely available, but Dina could be looking at long-term nerve damage if that’s literally all she eats. Vitamin K deficiency leads to bleeding problems and bone weakness too.

      Some “healthy” cereals are fortified with Vitamins E & K, but most cereals don’t bother.

      1. Pyr05

        Why would cereal companies worry about Vitamin C, E, or K?

        Seriously, what could kids need with not contracting scurvy, having nerves that work, all that blood in their body, or strong bones?

        Their teeth are falling out anyway, parents agree that small bumps and instant crying is friggin’ stupid, blood is just another fluid for them to leak inexplicably, and their bones are making them bigger, so maybe a little weakness will take the cocky sons-of-bongoes down a peg.

        1. Valdrax

          Well, actually, who needs to? Most people don’t just eat cereal & milk.

          Most kids will get Vitamin C from juice at breakfast, Vitamin E comes from just about anything with plant oils in it, and Vitamin K comes from just about any green vegetable. (Your gut flora also synthesize it.)

          Really, about the only way to miss these vitamins is to deliberately eat a specifically unhealthy, one-note diet. People who eat like Dina are rare.

    4. BOB

      And beri-beri. And pellagra.

  16. CanvasWolfDoll

    is wrong that first thing i thought about was ‘huh, what was the economic term for how eventually dina will no longer feel the price of the cereal is worth the happiness it exerts, even at it’s price of zero.’ as opposed to just saying ‘i wonder how long until she gets sick of it?’

    i can reconize when economic terms apply, i just can remember them.

    1. Wizard

      Marginal utility, maybe?

      1. CanvasWolfDoll

        that’s the one! i ponder the marginal utility of cold cereal to dina.

    2. Barf Ninjason

      Diminishing returns?

      1. Ziaheart

        That’s what I was thinking of, but that’s wrong. That’s when something is added that should normally increase the output but ends up decreasing it proportionally instead. It would be like, Dina likes cereal but she likes ham, too, and she thinks adding cereal and ham for a meal would make it double the magic but it only makes her half as happier.

        1. LiamKav

          Isn’t “diminishing returns” more along the lines of “I like this, but I don’t like two lots of this twice as much.”

          Dina really enoys cereal. She gets 80 enjoyment points from one bowl. If she has two bowls in a row she gets less than 2 x 80 enjoyment (maybe 140), so she is only getting 60 points of enjoyment out of the second bowl. If she has 3 bowls in a row she would get less again (maybe only 160, so 20 points for the third bowl).

    3. Pyr05

      My brother eats nothing but chicken, pizza and peameal.

      ALL THE TIME.

      For the past 8 years.

      You think he’d be sick of the flavour, but no.

      1. CanvasWolfDoll

        but does he actually eat such things exclusively?

        1. Pyr05

          yes. Occasionally cereal as well. No other pork, no beef, no fish, no real vegetables to speak of.

      2. Jackson

        Dear Princess Celestia, Today I learned that peameal exists and I must eat it.

  17. JA

    Cereal is acceptable for every meal.

    I had at least one bowl of cereal every time I ate at the dining hall when I was in college.

  18. Bekah

    I’ve gotten so used to Amber with long hair from Shortpacked! that now it’s weird to see her with her hair short still.

  19. Eri

    I was going to say that Dina/Cereal is my new OTP, but that one might interfere with my Dick/Cereal OTP…

    Dina/Cereal/Dick OT3 it is

  20. GenericScreenName101

    Cereal may not be “health” food, but dammit, its mental health food!

  21. Scott

    Yes. Cereal is Best.

  22. Globen

    Dina: Cereal is my favourite food. I could honestly eat it for every meal. Or just all the time without even stopping.

    Amber: You’d get fat.

    Dina: No.

    Amber: You’d get totally fat.

    Dina: I don’t think I’d get fat. Why would I get fat?

    Amber: Cereal makes you fat.

    Dina: Cereal makes you fat?!

  23. Just for kix

    Wow, epic line – “I don’t make the rules, I just live in fear of them”. *a hat tip to david willis*

  24. Undrave

    So Dina is… *puts on sunglasses*

    A cereal killer!

    1. JBO

      Why so cereal?

    2. DSL

      She should get Life.

  25. Becky

    …seriously? People think this is weird? I’ve seen people eat cereal at any damn time of the day at my college. I suppose it goes with the “Oh my God, I can eat whatever I want WHENEVER I WANT” mentality (which also led to me regularly eating dry ramen noodles as a snack food freshman year)

    Well, that and 85-90% of all college cafeteria food is gross, so might as well stick with one of the few things they can’t fuck up.

    1. HiEv

      Ideal avatar for that comment. 😀

    2. Wack'd

      Eating a lot of cereal isn’t weird.

      Eating cereal to the exclusion of everything else is.

    3. Roborat

      I tend to lean towards the second reason there. Plus the fact that it is simple to make.

  26. Wixvhen

    I used to eat nothing but cereal for breakfast lunch and dinner!

    1. Wixvhen

      It was tasty, and had so much fiber I had to [censored] and to this day, my rectum is still not fully intact.

    2. Nerdman

      I used to eat cereal all day, but then [Insert Skyrim Meme Here].

  27. Azukar

    a) I am disappoint. My uni put away the cereal dispensers after about midday.

    b) Dana displays Slight Coherent Logic in panel 4!

    c) Cereal for every meal is awesome! However it is probably not nutritionally sound.

  28. Plasma Mongoose

    Cereal? I thought they were Skittles at first.

    1. Groove

      The Desserts sign floating overhead made me think that as well.

      I miss being a student and eating brownies for breakfast. Oh to be young and wastefully employed.

  29. bunivasal

    “Strange” is not a synonym for “bad”, Dina. Like everything you do, it is not bad, but it makes people wonder what’s going on inside your head. Strangeness makes people nervous. Expected behavior puts them at their ease. Even ultimately harmless things can make people uncomfortable, if only because they’ve never considered doing things that way.

    On the other hand, it is funny to see people attributing Dina’s unusual habits as some sort of rebellion from the norms. She does what nominally feels good because she’s totally unaware of exterior criticism, however facile it might be. She’s not an independent soul capable of ignoring the weight of social criticism, she’s just oblivious to it. That’s not the same thing.

  30. Ebonsaber

    Suure everyone’s talking about Dina’s cereal, but what the heck is that grey stuff on Amber’s plate?

    1. Plasma Mongoose

      BRAINS!

      1. Jim

        Brains & Milk!
        .
        Got Brains? http://tinyurl.com/22tbotq

    2. Shade

      That’s a shadow, there’s nothing on the plate.

      Clearly Amber is having air.

  31. AsimovSideburns

    Dina’s eyebrows have lowered! They’re visible!

    WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?

  32. Lightfoot

    Dina likes cereal so much she should have her own cereal. In Dina’s defense, didn’t dinosaurs also eat cereal?

  33. Brian Boyko

    Quick question for David: Does Dina have Asperger’s syndrome? It would absolutely fit. Strange social behaviors, obsessed about dinosaurs, unwillingness to deviate from routine, inability to read social cues…

    As an aspie myself, maybe I’m projecting, but I’d love to see this as the case.

    1. AndaisQ

      Friend, you are very late to the party.

      The conversations on this very subject once filled the DoA threads and roamed free across the plains… They’ve mostly gone away, since they were discussed ad nauseam.

      See also: The comments for every other strip she’s been in.

  34. Darkflame

    I think most people have milk on their cereal….people that use water are FREAKS! Freaks I tell you!

    1. Kaja Rainbow

      Except for the people that can’t drink milk because it makes them sick. Though I prefer to just eat my cereal dry than with water. Water doesn’t go well with cereal. Neither does juice.

      1. Jim

        Yogurt works great — unless the flavors clash.

        I used yogurt in a pinch once, and now use it 50% of the time. Either vanilla or plain with a few packets of Splenda added to it, and you’re set! Plus it lasts longer in the fridge than milk, and the Greek stuff, while thick, can be whipped a little with a spoon, and has 2x the protein of milk and no additional carbs.TRY IT!

      2. TacosForever

        I used to not be able to drink milk at all. Soymilk, my friends. Soymilk is the best. Flavored with vanilla, and I’ve literally never had it spoil (it keeps for months). Water with cereal sounds disgusting, I have to say. Also one time I was reading, holding a book with one hand and pouring milk into my cereal with the other, and then I looked up from my book and realized I’d poured orange juice. I really didn’t want to waste the cereal, so I tried it. Alas, it was COMPLETELY disgusting.

      3. N0083rP00F

        I tried Soy, Rice and Almond milk substitutes and on their own they are an acquired taste. In cereal it just clashes to harshly and hot cereal – bleah!

        I have found that real apple juice works fine for the cereals I eat, not that corn sugar sweetened reconstituted stuff, and lets not even go into the orange juices with ingredient lists longer than the cereal has.

        As for fiber – just eat the box – less toxic stuff in there than the contents.

    2. Jackson

      I’m a dry guy. If you pour milk on it, it gets messy to eat on the drive to work.

  35. Das BookPimp (@The_BookPimp)

    I’d Rather have Pie

  36. Aslee

    Oooo~ Trix. Good choice, Dina! They were much better when they had shapes, though. (It could also be Captain Crunch, though, which is even better!) Also, I think I see Cocoa Puffs.

    … Cereal is important, okay?

    1. Starfire22

      You’re wrong, cookie crisp is the better cereal.

  37. begbert2

    Only crazy people do small, harmless acts that comfort themselves. Sane people do big reckless things that endanger themselves and others.

  38. TexasUberAlles

    Oooh, Dina’s on the snarky end of the spectrum!

  39. Kernanator

    Not that I don’t think that being able to eat cereal at any time of day I damn well please is awesome (it totally is), but even I like a little variety in my meal options.

    Not much. Just a little.

    I have a comfort zone, okay?

    1. N0083rP00F

      So its Trix / Apple Jacks for breakfast, Lucky Charms / Rice Crispies for lunch, Cocoa Puffs / Cinamon Toast Crunch for dinner?

  40. Bill M.

    No! Dina stop that slide to the dark side. The furrowing of the brow when your food choices are questioned is the start, and I want you to be the sweet, innocent dinosaur lover that you were introduced as in this comic.

  41. Shariku Onikage

    Dina raises an serious point in Panel 3!

    I believe i may have to seriously reconsider my worldview on object consumption policies…

    Does anyone know, off-hand, if restaurants still serve cereal at around 7pm?

  42. Lola

    Why do I have the urge to try and shop pointy red glasses onto Dina and change “Cereal” to “Red”?

    And why did it take me so long to figure out why the whole “It’s the best” thing caused fits of “Who the heck also does this?” before realizing who it was.

  43. bunivasal

    Wait, is Amber going to eat Mary Worth style pink and gray cubes? Oh please oh please.

  44. Curambar

    I really love these comics, and I got jealous of the people who had read David’s previous works. So I started an unhealthy quest: I’m currently archive binging all of the Roomies-It’s Walky site. Started 2 days ago, current comic October 2002.
    Need lots of coffee.

  45. Ray

    “Part of a balanced breakfast” doesn’t mean you have a good diet if it’s the only thing you eat. I wouldn’t begrudge her having cereal as a side dish with every meal, but I hope she’s getting some protein and veggies and stuff.

    Some cereal makes a great snack food straight out of the box.

  46. RobHagen

    That first panel. It had me at hello.

  47. Bugberry

    Dina just keeps getting awesomer. there must be a law of conservation of awesome.

  48. Shay Guy

    The set of all foods is not well-ordered under the “better than” relation. (Under this relation, a “least element” would be a “best food.”) This relation is also highly context-dependent, affected as it is by not just the taste of foods and their nutritional content, but by the aggregate nutritional content of the foods you’ve eaten recently (which we may specify somewhat arbitrarily as “within the past week”).

    Relative enjoyment of eating (“X~Y” = “So-and-so enjoys eating X more than eating Y”) may be well-ordered with the vast majority of circumstances sharing a common least element, as it appears to be in Dina’s case.

  49. Blue

    Amber’s quote needs to be a shirt

  50. BrokenEye, True False Prophet

    Meh, I prefer Frosted Flakes. Most sugary cereals are way too sweet, and most non-sugary cereals are way too… um… whatever the opposite of “sweet” is. Frosted Flakes are pretty damn close to being the happy medium between the two.

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