Pre-sliced bread was invented in 1928 by Otto Rohwedder, who built the first commercial bread-slicing machine. The first pre-sliced loaf was sold on July 7, 1928, in Chillicothe, Missouri, and was described by a local newspaper as 'the greatest forward step in the baking industry since bread was wrapped.' The phrase 'the greatest thing since sliced bread' was coined almost immediately afterward.