Betty Crocker's Egg -- A Lesson In Mass Manipulation

The story


In the early 50s Freud's psychoanalytic approaches were sweeping America, even to the point where the CIA was trying to use it for mass-control of the population. Although these alarming mind-control experiments had limited success at best, there were some notable successes, particularly in promotion.

A place where it proved successful was in the unassuming kitchens of middle-class families. Betty Crocker Foods had produced an instant cake-mix. All you needed to do was to add water to the supplied powder. By today's standards, the result was probably quite unpalatable, but then, it was something of a miracle.

The problem was that the miracle mixture did not sell. Undaunted, Betty turned to the new science of psychoanalysis to help solve the problem.

The conclusion of the psychoanalysts that she employed was that the although the average American housewife very much appreciated the convenience of the cake mix, she felt guilty at deceiving her husband and other guests into thinking she had worked hard for them when, in fact, she had done very little work.

Their answer: add an egg.

An egg also has the connotation of life and birth, making the creation of the cake more meaningful -- the housewife thus 'gives birth' for her husband.Changing the recipe to add an egg to the mixture (which was suitably modified to make space for one egg's worth of protein and cholesterol) offered the guilty housewife a way out. By doing more than adding water, by adding a real ingredient, she could assuage her guilt.

The result: sales soared.

Freud 1, Housewives 0

From M.o.1 -- Many people scoff at the concept of mind control. Some say that the term "mind control" does not even exist but rather falls into the category of influencing however this is merely a matter of semantics as through the influencing comes control of actions as seen this small instance.


People have to ask themselves just how much of their brain is their own and how much is fed to them? This comes in from all sorts of angles....music/entertainment, advertising, speeches, campaigns/elections, etc....the list is endless. However, much like learning the trick to a magician's illusion....once you know the keys their "mysticism", the bedazzlement of their illusion no longer remains.

This also brings up other elements as to ways to fight back against the oppressors. Perhaps using their very weapons they have used on the masses for decades not to imprison but to expose the lies is the key to getting people to understand. However, through this, there are obvious self hood issues that must be addressed as to whether it is the right of anyone to use these weapons against the masses....for that, the choice is yours.