Episode 293

The Best Thing Since Wrapped Bread

Rerun. Sliced bread had never been automated before Otto Rohwedder unveiled his “power-driven, multi-bladed bread slicer” at Chillicothe Baking Company on July 6, 1928 - after an astonishing SIXTEEN years of self-funded development.&nbsp;The Chillicothe Constitution-Tribune ran a front-page story in response - warning that consumers might find sliced bread “startling,” but that “the typical housewife could expect a thrill of pleasure when she first sees a loaf of this bread with each slice the exact counterpart of its fellows.”&nbsp;In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly trace the origins of this seismic event to the creation of the pop-up toaster in 1921; consider what it means to be ‘an itinerant jeweller’; and reveal the results of a survey of 30,000 housewives on optimum slice-width…&nbsp;Further Reading:• ‘The best thing since sliced bread’ (Jim Glynne, The Madera Tribune, 2018):<a href="http://www.maderatribune.com/single-post/2018/07/07/the-best-thing-since-sliced-bread" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">http://www.maderatribune.com/single-post/2018/07/07/the-best-thing-since-sliced-bread</a>• Chillicothe, Missouri - ‘The Home of Sliced Bread’:<a href="http://www.homeofslicedbread.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">http://www.homeofslicedbread.com/</a>• ‘Sliced Bread: Where did it come from?’ on HowStuffWorks’ YouTube channel:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Q7oMc-L57c" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Q7oMc-L57c</a> For bonus material and to support the show, visit<a href="https://create.acast.com/episodes/ca1f94a1-0921-446a-ae00-4d4bfd2ba3ef/Patreon.com/Retrospectors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://patreon.com/Retrospectors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Patreon.com/Retrospectors</a>We'll be back tomorrow with a new episode! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts:<a href="https://create.acast.com/episodes/ca1f94a1-0921-446a-ae00-4d4bfd2ba3ef/podfollow.com/Retrospectors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://podfollow.com/Retrospectors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">podfollow.com/Retrospectors</a> The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.&nbsp; <hr> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

Today In History with The Retrospectors

July 6, 202211m 4s

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Show Notes

Rerun. Sliced bread had never been automated before Otto Rohwedder unveiled his “power-driven, multi-bladed bread slicer” at Chillicothe Baking Company on July 6, 1928 - after an astonishing SIXTEEN years of self-funded development.

The Chillicothe Constitution-Tribune ran a front-page story in response - warning that consumers might find sliced bread “startling,” but that “the typical housewife could expect a thrill of pleasure when she first sees a loaf of this bread with each slice the exact counterpart of its fellows.”

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly trace the origins of this seismic event to the creation of the pop-up toaster in 1921; consider what it means to be ‘an itinerant jeweller’; and reveal the results of a survey of 30,000 housewives on optimum slice-width…