For those of you who don't know what WheatBix are, these are small bricks of what is referred to as (but doubted that they really are) wheat flakes. You may have them in your country, but perhaps they are known by a different name – WheatSlabs, FlakeBricks, CerealRocks, BreakfastBoulders etc.

It occurred to me this morning, whilst observing a work colleague scraping and chipping the remains of his WheatBix breakfast out of his bowl at the sink on our floor, that here was an untapped source of building material. You see, when WheatBix come into contact with a liquid, such as milk, they become soggy and eatable. But when they dry out again, they become hard and solidify into an entirely new substance I have code named WB2000 – or WheatRete.

WheatRete has the fluid consistency of concrete when wet, but solidifies when dried into a light-weight, solid substance with great fireproof and insulation properties. The potential for building materials is enormous, and could perhaps even win me a Nobel Prize for conservation of Rainforests, where the trees are milled for housing.

Please keep this to yourself, however, until I have thoroughly investigated the patent rights on WheatRete®™©.