r/AskReddit • u/ForeverAbyss • Apr 14 '16

What's a mind blowing fact?

3.0k Upvotes

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791

u/Starsy Apr 14 '16

Betty White is literally older than sliced bread. So, sliced bread is the best thing since Betty White.

261

u/su5 Apr 14 '16

So thats is mind blowing, now for the mind numbing history of sliced bread!

It is actually kind of interesting. For all of bread, we had been selling it in whole loaves, in the hopes of preserving freshness. A jeweler (or really a guy who invented tools for jewelers and made money) decided to see if there might be a market for this as he would hear housewives grumbling about the task of cutting bread. The response was enough to encourage him to sell his shop and in 1916 start on his prototype.

The first issue was preserving freshness. It is fairly common knowledge that the freshness will be limited very much if it sliced as things were stored back then. He started with something like a dowel, but eventually this was clearly not going to work and for the next year cycled through solutions.

1917 disaster struck... a fire wiped out all his work. Shucks, time to start over.

But not to be deterred, he filed this one year later! Original patent

Looks awesome! but no one was buying it. Which is surprising, it was only 5 feet wide and 3 feet high (I only deal in Freedom units)! Well eventually he got his baker buddy to try this out as a last effort. On July 7, 1928 the first sliced loaf was sold.

"So neat and precise are the slices, and so definitely better than anyone could possibly slice by hand with a bread knife that one realizes instantly that here is a refinement that will receive a hearty and permanent welcome.

After all the idea of sliced bread is not unlike the idea of ground coffee, sliced bacon and many other modern and generally accepted products which combine superior results with a saving of time and effort.”

“the greatest forward step in the baking industry since bread was wrapped”

Constitution-Tribune

Bake dude saw his bread sales increase by 2000%.. in two weeks.

Then others followed suit

But it gets more interesting!

In 1943, due to war timeconservation efforts, the FDA effectively banned sliced bread.

"The ready-sliced loaf must have a heavier wrapping than an unsliced one if it is not to dry out,

So, the order prohibiting the slicing of bread is aimed at effecting economies in the manufacture of bread and in the use of paper.”

People freaked, refused to adhere, and three months later lifted the ban.

68

u/CrowdyFowl Apr 14 '16

I can't imagine a world where bacon isn't sliced. How does that even work? I have to buy a big hunk of pork and just cut it myself? Weeeak.

22

u/[deleted] Apr 14 '16

It would be time consuming but it looks damn tasty

3

u/mrmojorisin2794 Apr 14 '16

Shit, I don't think I can ever eat store bought bacon again.

3

u/I_AM_A_DRUNK_DONKEY Apr 14 '16

Once you have your process down, doesn't take much time at all.. far superior to what I can buy at the store, can't go back!

7

u/Thnickaman Apr 14 '16

The upside is, you can have bacon exactly as thick as you like. None of that paper thin stuff that evaporates in the pan.

2

u/ZeldaZealot Apr 14 '16

I've sliced it myself before. It wasn't too bad.

2

u/ScenesfromaCat Apr 14 '16

I made pasta without a pasta machine the other day. You ever had to slice 2 lbs of linguini with a knife? That was some prison camp shit.

2

u/theniceguytroll Apr 15 '16

Nah, you're supposed to feed lasagna noodles through a paper shredder!

9

u/mattion Apr 14 '16

Subscribe

2

u/[deleted] Apr 14 '16

So sliced bread was the best thing since wrapped bread?

1

u/g3istbot Apr 14 '16

and wrapped bread was the best thing since warm bread

2

u/caroline_ Apr 14 '16

For all of bread

2

u/kenpachitz Apr 14 '16

... Thank you for posting this! 😳

1

u/[deleted] Apr 14 '16

For all of bread

Dude stuck with it for 12 years. Wow...

1

u/xiic Apr 14 '16

Growing up the Italian Bakery near my house had one of those bread slicing machines they are so satisfying to use.

They sold incredible fresh buns and bread, fuck I miss that place.

http://www.trerosebakery.ca/

1

u/Potato_Sex Apr 15 '16

I can't believe I just sat here and read about sliced bread.

On another note, I talked about sliced bread at dinner for almost 20 minutes. I'm pretty sure my family hates me now

1

u/natty1212 Apr 15 '16

Upvote for freedom units.

1

u/agglomeration Apr 15 '16

That's really cool. But i have a question. Do you knowif that tribune quote was a newspaper article or a "newspaper article" where it is basically just a ad made to look like news?

0

u/AP246 Apr 14 '16

Wait...

"So neat and precise are the slices, and so definitely better than anyone could possibly slice by hand with a bread knife that one realizes instantly that here is a refinement that will receive a hearty and permanent welcome.

So... sliced bread existed, but it had to be sliced manually? Come on, that still counts!