POPSCI.COM/ SPRING 2020 71Otto Rohwedder reinvented bread
when he created the first machine
to slice it. His local paper called the
innovation “a refinement that will
receive a hearty and permanent
welcome.” Only a few cities enjoyed
the convenience until Taggart Bak-
ing Co. made Wonder Bread one of
the first pre-portioned loaves sold
nationwide, turning the super-soft
carb into a glutenous rock star. The
US government banned the culinary
creation in 1943, in part to conserve
paraffin (used in the waxed- paper
packaging) for the war. But wide-
spread public outcry forced Uncle
Sam to quickly change course, mak-
ing the return of sliced bread the
greatest thing since sliced bread.
BORN 1927