Sliced bread, the universal benchmark of greatness.

The phrase "the greatest thing since sliced bread" ("best" may be substituted for "greatest", and "innovation" or "invention" may be substituted for "thing") is a commonly used hyperbolic (and sometimes sarcastic) means of praising an invention or other society-advancing development. Sliced bread - meaning pre-sliced, packaged bread - has existed only since 1928, and it appears to be something of an arbitrary selection as the benchmark against which later inventions should be judged. It has been said that "the phrase is the ultimate depiction of innovative achievement and American know-how" [1] - although it is commonly used in the United Kingdom as well (although without reference to American know-how). Bread Photo by Michel Marcon This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Bread Photo by Michel Marcon This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Look up hyperbole in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... -1... In general terms, an invention is an object, process or technique which displays an element of novelty. ... European sweetbread (strucla) Four loaves French bread has a somewhat rigid crust Breads and Bread Rolls at a bakery Continental Italian Bread Tin Vienna Bread Bread in a traditional oven, in Portugal, with hot coal in front Pre-sliced bread has become more common in many countries Bread rolls Pain... 1928 (MCMXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ...

A little known fact about sliced bread is that its origin can be traced back to a single place. Chillicothe, Missouri (USA), is the official "Home of Sliced Bread." Sliced bread was born in Chillicothe, Missouri, on July 7, 1928. Chillicothe is a city located in Livingston County, Missouri. ...

The popular use of the phrase appears to derive from the fact that Wonder Bread - the first mass-marketer of sliced bread as a product - launched a 1930s ad campaign touting the innovation. As one source reports, "[s]oon every new innovation of convenience was being touted as the 'greatest thing since sliced bread.'" Wonder Bread Wonder Bread Slices Wonder Bread is a North American brand of extremely soft white bread. ... This article or section is missing references or citation of sources. ...

See also

• Snowclone — a type of formula-based cliché which uses an old idiom in a new context. "Greatest thing since X" has been seen as a snowclone.
• List of snowclones

Snowclone is a neologism used to describe a type of formula-based cliché which uses an old idiom in a new context. ... The following is a list of snowclones roughly ordered by known year of original usage. ...

External links

• Joe Kissel's Interesting Thing of the Day: The Invention of the Wheel - The best thing until sliced bread.

Some developments referred to as the best/greatest thing/invention since sliced bread:

• Wikipedia Note: this is a sarcastic reference by an anti-Wikipedian.
• The iPod (The Morning News: iPod vs. Sliced Bread) Note: this article concludes that sliced bread is still the greater invention.
• Handheld technology (e.g., the PDA)
• High-level languages for microcontrollers
• Thermal depolymerization
• Sara Lee crustless bread
• Multi-variable integration (which the author then uses to calculate the volume of the bread slices).
• Liberty (Note: clearly hyperbole, as liberty was invented before sliced bread).
• Uncyclopedia's best things ever list