Sliced Bread Invented: Greatest Thing Since...Itself
The Chillicothe Baking Company wrapped sixteen slices in wax paper and waited to see if anyone would buy pre-cut loaves. Otto Rohwedder had spent sixteen years perfecting his bread slicer after a 1912 fire destroyed his first prototypes. Bakers called him crazy—sliced bread would go stale, they said. But housewives in Chillicothe, Missouri loved it. Sales jumped 2,000% within two weeks. July 7, 1928. His 48th birthday. Within fifteen years, 80% of American bread sold pre-sliced. We measure innovation against something that didn't exist when most people's grandparents were born.
July 7, 1928
98 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on July 7
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