It’s trivial, but I’ve noticed a common element in loaves of pre-sliced bread. Rye, wheat, raisin, it doesn’t matter. Every loaf I’ve bought recently has had sixteen slices. I know because I repackage each loaf for the freezer since Earl and I cannot eat that much bread before it gets stale.
I went to the internet to see if there was something magical about sixteen and came away with conflicting information. Most sources said there were 20 to 24 slices, which makes me wonder if bakeries are putting one over on us. Some sources also discussed usable slices, whatever that means, as well as the weight of each slice, usually listed in kilograms. I decided this wasn’t worth any more of my time, except for one last morsel.
The phrase “the greatest thing since sliced bread” is an adaptation of a slogan created by the Chillicothe Baking Company in 1928. Chillicothe was the first company to sell sliced bread and its advertisements said it was “the greatest forward step in the baking industry since bread was wrapped.”
So . . . sliced bread is apparently the greatest thing since wrapped bread.
Leave a Reply