What’s so great about sliced bread?

Day 72 / 365

The phrase “It’s the next big thing since sliced bread” used to confuse me a lot. I mean, whats so great about sliced bread? At least for India I can say that sliced bread was the only kind of bread that I ever ate. I don’t think anyone here purchased whole loafs of bread.

So it was a surprise to me when I first encountered this expression. Today I thought I’ll look more into this wonder that is our sliced bread. Here’s what I found.

When the idea of sliced bread was first proposed, people didn’t receive it that well. The biggest criticism was that sliced bread would in evitably spoil faster than a whole loaf.

Around 1928, the first machine for slicing and packing bread was invented. And against all odds, sliced bread was a great hit!

Sliced bread made it easy for people to eat bread, as they didn’t had to spend time slicing it themselves. Also the machine gave them thin and uniform slices that were easier to work with.

As a conservation measure during the war, sliced bread was banned in America for sometime in 1943. This quote by a housewife during that time shows how important sliced bread was for them

I should like to let you know how important sliced bread is to the morale and saneness of a household. My husband and four children are all in a rush during and after breakfast. Without ready-sliced bread I must do the slicing for toast—two pieces for each one—that’s ten. For their lunches I must cut by hand at least twenty slices, for two sandwiches apiece. Afterward I make my own toast. Twenty-two slices of bread to be cut in a hurry!

This story is part of my 365 Day Project for 2019. Read about it here

Yesterday’s blog — Charles Ponzi — The inventor of the “Ponzi Scheme”