Inventions: Sliced Bread

Everybody has heard the expression: “It is the greatest thing since sliced bread!” but what’s so great about sliced bread?

Until fairly recently, people made their own bread at home or bought it at the local bakery in loaves. Otto Frederick Rohwedder, an American inventor, started thinking of creating a bread slicing machine in 1912. It took him until 1927 to design a machine that not only sliced bread but also wrapped it. In 1930 The Continental Baking Company introduced sliced Wonder Bread. Sales were slow at first as customers were very suspicious and thought that sliced bread would dry out too quickly but convenience overruled apprehension and soon everyone wanted sliced bread.

The introduction of sliced bread also brought to life another invention. The automatic pop-up toaster had been languishing on the shelves since 1926, but the sliced bread was the perfect size to fit into the toaster.

In a way sliced bread was the conclusion of a century of technological innovation: it needed electricity, plastic and mechanical engineering.

Did you know

In 1943 the US officals tried to ban sliced bread in a bid to reduce costs during the war, however, due to popular demand the ban was lifted in the same year.

Related links

Check out other inventions here and famous inventors in Famous faces.

Your thoughts

These days our supermarket shelves are packed with conveniently prepared food. What do you think it would be like to be slicing your own bread, and making everything from scratch? Tell us in the comments box below.