A Missouri town almost forgot it invented the greatest thing in the world: sliced bread

On the main strip of town in Chillicothe, Missouri, you’ll pass by a large colorful mural: “Home of sliced bread.”

It’s actually the official slogan for the town, which hosts an annual Sliced Bread Day on July 7, a celebration made official by the Missouri General Assembly in 2018.

As part of the festivities, there’s a parade, concerts, a 5K run, a golf tournament and a bread baking competition. Thousands of people come out every year to this rural town of about 10,000 people.

But according to former reporter Catherine Strotz Ripley, less than two decades ago, residents of Chillicothe had no idea they even had this claim to fame.

“I don’t know how everybody pretty much forgot about it,” Ripley says.