1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:01,960 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:13,080 Speaker 1: Heart Radio, Hello and Welcome to This Day in History Class, 3 00:00:13,400 --> 00:00:16,120 Speaker 1: a show that serves up a thick slice of history 4 00:00:16,480 --> 00:00:20,880 Speaker 1: seven days a week. I'm Gabe Lousier, and in this episode, 5 00:00:21,160 --> 00:00:23,720 Speaker 1: we're looking at a story that reminds us not to 6 00:00:23,800 --> 00:00:28,800 Speaker 1: take small luxuries for granted, even something is seemingly unremarkable 7 00:00:29,160 --> 00:00:41,800 Speaker 1: as pre sliced bread. The day was January eighth, ninety three. 8 00:00:42,760 --> 00:00:47,159 Speaker 1: Clawed are Wickered, the Secretary of Agriculture and head of 9 00:00:47,159 --> 00:00:51,360 Speaker 1: the War Food Administration, banned the sale of pre sliced 10 00:00:51,400 --> 00:00:55,880 Speaker 1: bread in America during World War Two. The official reason 11 00:00:55,960 --> 00:00:59,600 Speaker 1: given for the band was to conserve wax paper, since 12 00:00:59,640 --> 00:01:03,760 Speaker 1: slice bread loaves require thicker wax paper to preserve their 13 00:01:03,800 --> 00:01:09,080 Speaker 1: freshness compared to unsliced loaves. However, there was no shortage 14 00:01:09,080 --> 00:01:12,119 Speaker 1: of wax paper when the band took effect, and most 15 00:01:12,160 --> 00:01:15,800 Speaker 1: bread making companies had plenty on hand and wouldn't have 16 00:01:15,840 --> 00:01:20,000 Speaker 1: needed to buy more for several months. The secondary goal 17 00:01:20,080 --> 00:01:23,200 Speaker 1: of the band was to conserve the nation's wheat supply. 18 00:01:24,000 --> 00:01:26,880 Speaker 1: It's hard to imagine, but pre sliced bread was a 19 00:01:26,920 --> 00:01:30,440 Speaker 1: relatively new product at the time. It had only been 20 00:01:30,440 --> 00:01:33,520 Speaker 1: available for a little over a decade thanks to the 21 00:01:33,600 --> 00:01:38,280 Speaker 1: advent of the automatic bread slicing machine. The novelty of 22 00:01:38,319 --> 00:01:40,840 Speaker 1: not having to slice it yourself had led to a 23 00:01:40,959 --> 00:01:46,080 Speaker 1: drastic increase in bread consumption nationwide, with roughly eight percent 24 00:01:46,240 --> 00:01:50,920 Speaker 1: of all bread consumed in the country the sliced variety. 25 00:01:51,080 --> 00:01:55,200 Speaker 1: So banning sliced bread was intended to decrease demand, which 26 00:01:55,240 --> 00:01:59,360 Speaker 1: would in turn reduce the demand for flour and ultimately 27 00:01:59,480 --> 00:02:03,080 Speaker 1: lower the price of all those products, while also increasing 28 00:02:03,120 --> 00:02:08,120 Speaker 1: the nations stockpile of wheat. However, just like with waxed paper, 29 00:02:08,480 --> 00:02:12,000 Speaker 1: there wasn't a wheat shortage at the time. The US 30 00:02:12,080 --> 00:02:15,720 Speaker 1: had amassed over a billion bushels of wheat, enough to 31 00:02:15,800 --> 00:02:19,360 Speaker 1: feed the country for two years, even if no new 32 00:02:19,360 --> 00:02:24,760 Speaker 1: wheat was harvested during that period. In reality, Wickered didn't 33 00:02:24,760 --> 00:02:28,480 Speaker 1: have a clear cut reason for banning sliced bread. He 34 00:02:28,560 --> 00:02:30,880 Speaker 1: probably just wanted to save a little money in the 35 00:02:31,040 --> 00:02:35,160 Speaker 1: national agricultural budget and figured that sliced bread was a 36 00:02:35,280 --> 00:02:39,480 Speaker 1: luxury that most Americans wouldn't mind giving up. But he 37 00:02:39,760 --> 00:02:43,800 Speaker 1: quickly found out just how wrong he was. The band 38 00:02:43,840 --> 00:02:48,000 Speaker 1: caught everyone off guard and sent thousands of families scrambling 39 00:02:48,040 --> 00:02:54,639 Speaker 1: to hardware stores to buy bread knives, which promptly sold out. Hotels, restaurants, 40 00:02:54,639 --> 00:02:58,280 Speaker 1: and railroad dining cars were given a sixty day grace 41 00:02:58,360 --> 00:03:01,959 Speaker 1: period to prepare for the band, but for local bakeries 42 00:03:01,960 --> 00:03:06,680 Speaker 1: and markets, the shake up happened overnight. One week into 43 00:03:06,720 --> 00:03:11,440 Speaker 1: the band, Sue Forest of Fairfield, Connecticut wrote a letter 44 00:03:11,560 --> 00:03:14,919 Speaker 1: to The New York Times lamenting the state of affairs. 45 00:03:15,720 --> 00:03:19,200 Speaker 1: She spoke for just about everyone when she wrote, quote, 46 00:03:19,600 --> 00:03:22,720 Speaker 1: I should like to let you know how important sliced 47 00:03:22,720 --> 00:03:26,559 Speaker 1: bread is to the morale and saneness of a household. 48 00:03:27,040 --> 00:03:31,160 Speaker 1: My husband and four children are all in a rush before, during, 49 00:03:31,280 --> 00:03:35,640 Speaker 1: and after breakfast. Without ready sliced bread. I must do 50 00:03:35,720 --> 00:03:39,640 Speaker 1: the slicing for toast, two pieces for each one. That's ten. 51 00:03:40,280 --> 00:03:42,960 Speaker 1: For their lunches, I must cut by hand at least 52 00:03:42,960 --> 00:03:47,480 Speaker 1: twenty slices for two sandwiches a piece. Afterward, I make 53 00:03:47,520 --> 00:03:50,640 Speaker 1: my own toast twenty two slices of bread to be 54 00:03:50,720 --> 00:03:53,960 Speaker 1: cut in a hurry. They look less appetizing than the 55 00:03:54,000 --> 00:03:58,760 Speaker 1: bakers neat even pieces. Haven't the bakers already their own 56 00:03:58,840 --> 00:04:03,920 Speaker 1: bread slicing machine means? And for thousands of loaves, it 57 00:04:03,960 --> 00:04:07,720 Speaker 1: may sound like a frivolous complaint, but she actually had 58 00:04:07,720 --> 00:04:10,360 Speaker 1: a point. It was a waste of time and effort 59 00:04:10,440 --> 00:04:13,720 Speaker 1: to cut dozens of slices of bread every day for 60 00:04:13,760 --> 00:04:17,279 Speaker 1: no good reason, and with steel and short supply during 61 00:04:17,279 --> 00:04:21,360 Speaker 1: the war, a dependable bread knife was increasingly hard to find. 62 00:04:22,320 --> 00:04:26,520 Speaker 1: You might imagine this was a somewhat toothless band officially 63 00:04:26,600 --> 00:04:31,120 Speaker 1: on the books, but not really enforceable. However, bakeries that 64 00:04:31,200 --> 00:04:35,400 Speaker 1: refused to comply with the regulation were slapped with costly fines. 65 00:04:36,320 --> 00:04:39,640 Speaker 1: John f ConA Boy, the supervisor of the f d 66 00:04:39,760 --> 00:04:43,839 Speaker 1: a's New York branch, warned bakeries that the administration was 67 00:04:43,960 --> 00:04:48,800 Speaker 1: quote prepared to take stern measures if necessary, and he 68 00:04:48,839 --> 00:04:53,200 Speaker 1: wasn't bluffing either. Emial Fink, a big time baker in 69 00:04:53,279 --> 00:04:56,080 Speaker 1: New York City, was one of many hit with a 70 00:04:56,200 --> 00:05:00,520 Speaker 1: one thousand dollar fine for continuing to sell slight bread. 71 00:05:01,440 --> 00:05:05,320 Speaker 1: The band was so poorly conceived and so unpopular with 72 00:05:05,400 --> 00:05:10,240 Speaker 1: the public that it was finally lifted on March eighth, NTE, 73 00:05:10,760 --> 00:05:14,760 Speaker 1: just three months after its introduction. In a statement issued 74 00:05:14,800 --> 00:05:19,360 Speaker 1: by the War Production Board, Wickered confessed that, quote our 75 00:05:19,440 --> 00:05:22,680 Speaker 1: experience with the order leads us to believe that the 76 00:05:22,800 --> 00:05:27,400 Speaker 1: savings are not as much as we expected. In other words, 77 00:05:27,560 --> 00:05:31,200 Speaker 1: the whole ordeal had been for nothing. The New York 78 00:05:31,279 --> 00:05:36,200 Speaker 1: Times celebrated the news in somewhat dated fashion by declaring, quote, 79 00:05:36,680 --> 00:05:41,560 Speaker 1: sliced bread put back on sale. Housewives thumbs safe again. 80 00:05:42,760 --> 00:05:46,120 Speaker 1: With sliced bread back on the market, it wasn't long 81 00:05:46,200 --> 00:05:49,599 Speaker 1: before Americans started using it as a benchmark for all 82 00:05:49,680 --> 00:05:53,560 Speaker 1: the small joys of life. From then on, if something 83 00:05:53,640 --> 00:05:57,960 Speaker 1: was truly exceptional, it was heralded as the greatest thing 84 00:05:58,240 --> 00:06:04,000 Speaker 1: since sliced bread. I'm Gay, Bluesier and hopefully you now 85 00:06:04,080 --> 00:06:07,760 Speaker 1: know a little more about history today than you did yesterday. 86 00:06:08,560 --> 00:06:11,120 Speaker 1: If you enjoyed today's show, you might want to follow 87 00:06:11,200 --> 00:06:14,520 Speaker 1: us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at t d I 88 00:06:15,040 --> 00:06:18,960 Speaker 1: HC Show and if you have any comments or suggestions, 89 00:06:19,200 --> 00:06:21,760 Speaker 1: you can send them my way at this Day at 90 00:06:21,800 --> 00:06:25,480 Speaker 1: i heeart media dot com. Thanks to Chandler Mays for 91 00:06:25,560 --> 00:06:28,640 Speaker 1: producing the show, and thank you for listening. I'll see 92 00:06:28,640 --> 00:06:32,839 Speaker 1: you back here again tomorrow for another day in History class. 93 00:06:40,040 --> 00:06:42,360 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from I Heart Radio, visit the iHeart 94 00:06:42,400 --> 00:06:44,880 Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 95 00:06:44,880 --> 00:06:45,560 Speaker 1: favorite shows.