Monday, July 7, 2025

Pre-sliced And Packaged

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If you're a sliced bread lover, today is a big day. According to Wikipedia, on July 7, 1928 the first sliced bread was sold by the Chillicothe Baking Company in Chillicothe, Missouri (a town about an hour northeast of Kansas City).

The story actually starts in 1912, when Otto Frederick Rohwedder of Davenport, Iowa built a prototype of a single loaf bread slicing machine. All of the paperwork was destroyed in a fire, and it took another 16 years for the machine to make its debut.

In 2019 Missouri state statute 9.240 designated July seventh of each year as "Missouri Sliced Bread Day", indicating that the citizens of this state are encouraged to participate in appropriate activities and events to commemorate the first sale of sliced bread on July 7, 1928, in Chillicothe, Missouri.

There's also a St. Louis sliced bread connection. Gustav Papendick, a St. Louis baker, bought the second bread slicing machine. He knew that sliced bread got stale faster than an uncut loaf, so he developed a way to keep a newly-sliced loaf aligned so it could easily be wrapped in wax paper.

Five years ago: [Not] Great Customer Service

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19 comments:

  1. AnonymousJuly 7, 2025 at 12:56 PM

    Who doesn't love sliced bread? -Christine cmlk79.blogspot .com

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  2. Debra She Who SeeksJuly 7, 2025 at 1:30 PM

    My day is complete now! Thanks, Kathy!

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  3. AnonymousJuly 7, 2025 at 1:54 PM

    I read recently that Trump is mulling putting a new tax on sliced bread, to get people off their folk's couches and slicing their own bread.

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    1. Kathy GJuly 7, 2025 at 8:03 PM

      I doubt it would do any good. During World War II the government banned the sale of sliced bread to conserve resources that were needed for the war effort. The ban was wildly unpopular, and only lasted a couple of months.

      Delete
  4. Katerinas BlogJuly 7, 2025 at 2:12 PM

    I take a regular loaf of bread from the oven and ask them to cut it for me!!

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    1. Kathy GJuly 7, 2025 at 8:04 PM

      You're lucky to have someone to do that for you.

      Delete
  5. Mary KirklandJuly 7, 2025 at 2:23 PM

    Thank you. Interesting info.

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  6. ShugJuly 7, 2025 at 4:56 PM

    I can just smell this bread right through the computer. We have stopped eating breads since Sam has been sick, but goodness it sure looks good.

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    1. Kathy GJuly 7, 2025 at 8:04 PM

      I don't eat a lot of bread, but doubt I could go cold turkey.

      Delete
  7. JudeeJuly 7, 2025 at 6:13 PM

    Interesting information. 16 years! Now that is perseverance.

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  8. BohemianJuly 7, 2025 at 7:52 PM

    It's interesting how many things we take for granted really are quite recent inventions, isn't it? Right now I'm on that dreadful Low Carb Diet so cannot eat much Bread, and I LOVE Bread, sob.

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  9. The Happy WhiskJuly 7, 2025 at 8:02 PM

    How cool is that! Now when I hear, that's the best thing since sliced bread, I also know the story behind how it got sliced. Groovy. Thanks.

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  10. Asep HaryonoJuly 7, 2025 at 10:49 PM

    Now I’ll think of Missouri every time I make toast!

    Happy Missouri Sliced Bread Day to all the carb lovers out there!

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  11. jabblogJuly 8, 2025 at 2:57 AM

    Interesting information. Now I'm wondering, what IS the best thing since sliced bread?

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