In honor of the recent passing of Lester Borchardt, inventor of my favorite cereal of all time, I would like to borrow a few minutes of your time to discuss those cheeriest of O’s: Cheerios. These days, all kids seem to think about is whole grain goodness and making sure they get their recommended daily amount of fiber. There was a time however, when children the world over cared a little less about what they were eating, and a little more about the advertising slogans associated with what they were eating.

To commemorate those simpler times, may I present to you a list of Cheerios’ taglines thoughout the years.

• “The Breakfast Food You’ve Always Wanted!” (1941)
• “Cheer up with Cheerioats” (1942)
• “Cheerioats: For Fighters on the Homefront” (1943)
• “Cheerioats: The New Flavor King of Cereals” (1944)
• “Look! An Oat Cereal All Ready to Eat” (1944)
• “Cheerios: The First Ready-To-Eat Oat Cereal” (1945)
• “The ‘Power’ Breakfast the Whole Family Loves” (1958)
• “The Big G stands for Goodness” (in reference to the General Mills’ G) (1962)
• “Go with the Goodness of Cheerios” (1964)
• “Nutrition: That’s the Cheerios Tradition” (1971)
• “Oats, the Grain Highest in Protein” (1971)
• “You’re on your toes with Cheerios” (1980s)
• “The Unsinkable Taste of Cheerios” (1984 - 1989)
• “It’s a good thing it’s Cheerios” (early 1990’s)
• “The one and Only Cheerios” (1994-2004)
• “Are you in the know about Cheerios” (mid 1990’s)
• “Four things are better than one” (in reference to four whole grains) (2005)

What’s your favorite cereal motto? Mine is now “The Unsinkable Taste of Cheerios”, which rings especially true while watching the dramatic climax to Honey I Shrunk the Kids. General Mills is offering you an implicit dare right on every box, challenging your very (wo)manhood and cereal sinking capabilities. Do you have a favorite tagline? Sound off in the comments and let me know what an advertiser has to say to get your wallet flappin.