It was a small cut for the Chillicothe Baking Company. But a giant leap for packed lunches all over the world.
Eighty years ago this Monday, the sliced bread machine made its first incision in Missouri, USA.
Not everyone was impressed. The Times noted derisively that:
Before long bakers will probably butter the bread themselves and spread jam on it at need. For very tired customers they may even cut the bread into finger shapes.
And, of course, so they do.
But on the whole sliced bread gained instant acclaim.
Among its many triumphs? The fact that, eight decades later, no-one has yet definitively answered the following: What is the "best thing since sliced bread"?
So get nominating.
