"sliced bread" news and stories

You know that saying, "The greatest thing since sliced bread?" It doesn't make a whole lot of sense to those of us born in the last few generations since we've always had sliced bread, but the invention of the slicer sure had an impact on the world when it debuted 80 years ago.

The first loaf of pre-sliced bread was sold on July 7, 1928, but its inventor, Otto Rohwedder, had been working on it since 1912. Invention Dimension profiled Rohwedder, who was a jeweler until 1916 when he decided to work on this idea full time. The world would have been treated to sliced bread in 1917 if a fire hadn't destroyed the blueprints and prototypes at the factory set to produce the first bread slicers. Rohwedder didn't give up, though. He worked until he made up for those losses, and kept plugging away at perfecting his bread slicing machine. He sold the first one to a bakery in in Chillicothe, Mo., in 1928, and a star was born.

I think fate may have played a part in that 1917 fire, because it wasn't until 1926 that the electric pop-up toaster became popular in the US. Would sliced bread have caught on without the new toasting device? We'll never know, but they sure do go well together!

[via Coldmud]

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Last spring, I volunteered to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the kids' table at a church potluck. Knowing that not all kids like the dark, nutty whole wheat bread I grew up on, I bought a loaf of plain country white at my local Trader Joe's. As I stood in line, waiting to pay for my purchases, I wanted to shout out to all the people standing around me, "The white bread isn't for me! I swear I don't eat this stuff!" I was sweating by the time the loaf was tucked into my handled brown paper bag.

Bread is one of those staples most households like to keep around. Over at UrbanMamas, they are having an interesting conversation about how you pick the sliced bread that you buy for your family. I thought it would be an fun question to bring over here. What guides your choices when it comes to the regular loaves you keep on your counter or in your fridge (we were always bread in fridge people in my family)? Do you read labels or have a regular brand? Do you feel the same sense of shame that I have when you buy white bread, or do you wave your white bread flag proudly? Do tell, inquiring minds would like to know.

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