Take a look at this.

Simple enough, right? But watch what happens next.

Okay, what the heck is this thing? Most people eat it like a soup, out of a bowl with a spoon, but is it a soup?

The word " soup " comes from words that originally meant " to absorb liquid " which dry cereal left in milk too long will do.

But words change. What if cereal is actually a type of salad, and milk is just a dressing?

Or, maybe dry cereal is the actual meal, and milk is just a condiment or a coating?

Adding milk to dry cereal might be like adding ketchup to French fries, or icing a cake.

Honestly, there is no real answer. The answer is whatever we agree the answer should be.

We make up the words and we make up the categories.