The Twisted Story Of Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Shrimp Tails & Topanga Lawrence

As kids, we all longed to find a surprise prize in our cereal boxes. But this is not what comedian and producer Jensen Karp had in mind when he pouring himself a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch on Monday. Karp found what appeared to be shrimp tails covered in cinnamon-sugar coating mixed in with the cereal — yes, really. And shortly after sharing the saga on Twitter, people became enthralled in the mystery of Cinnamon Toast Crunch shrimp guy — but they could have never predicted what happened next.

After sending a form submission email to General Mills, the creators of Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Karp posted a picture of what he found on Twitter. The brand reached out through its own Twitter account telling him that it was probably not shrimp tails in his breakfast, but just "an accumulation of the cinnamon sugar." 

As the story continued to trend on Twitter, General Mills issued a public statement: "After further investigation with our team that closely examined the image, it appears to be an accumulation of the cinnamon sugar that sometimes can occur when ingredients aren't thoroughly blended. We assure you that there's no possibility of cross contamination with shrimp."

But Karp was not convinced. In fact, he's currently waiting on a carcinologist to test the pieces. Why? Because in that same box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Karp also found what appears to be dental floss as well as black marks baked into the cereal that he fears may be rat feces. According to the writer, he bought a two-pack of the cereal, and on the second bag of cereal, Karp noticed what appeared to be clear tape on the bottom, leading him to suspect that the boxes could have been tampered with.

You still with me? Because this is about to get even weirder. In a plot twist that we never saw coming, Twitter users were shocked to learn that Karp is no mere man on the internet: He is married to Danielle Fishel, also known as Topanga Lawrence from Boy Meets World, also known as every straight man on Hinge's first celebrity crush. The pair were married in 2018 and have a son together. And it was perhaps this discovery that caused us to collectively lose our minds. Even Karp found the entire situation ripe for some 2021 bingo combination.

Obviously, Karp seems to have Topanga I mean Fishel's full support in his quest to determine how something that looks very much like shrimp ended up in his cereal. "'Accumulation of sugar particles.' I am truly at a loss for words," she tweeted.  

In an email to The New York Times, General Mills representative Mike Siemienas explained that the company is still investigating the incident, but they are confident that "this did not occur at our facility." While Karp and the company await the test results from the carcinologist, the internet is biding its time by developing shrimp-based dishes that incorporate a Cinnamon Toast Crunch coating. Even Karp admits they look delicious!