Before the
gas crisis of the 1970's Cheerios were produced using a very gas-intensive method. As the cost of gas rose,
General Mills began looking for alternative methods to produce the puffed oat cereal.
General Mills sought out an MIT electrical engineering professor for this endeavor. He developed a method of forming the famous small ring shape for the Cheerios, then superheating the oats. When the oats were heated up, steam accumulated inside the little rings. When the oats were then exposed to colder air, the steam could not escape, had a little "explosion" and the oats became puffed.
The development team worked on this method until it became one of the most efficent food processing methods on the market. When it was completed, the machine they had made was producing 100 pounds of Cheerios in an hour, at a much smaller cost to General Mills than the previous method.