They didn’t have this stuff in 1925

Have you ever heard the phrase “This is the best thing since sliced bread?” Well, in 1925, they couldn’t say that. Because there was no store-bought sliced bread in America.

That’s one of the interesting little factoids I came across today while doing research for my screenplay adaptation of my book, “Murder in Wauwatosa: The Mysterious Death of Buddy Schumacher,” which is the true story of a little boy’s abduction in 1925.

This was an era of Prohibition, flappers, jazz, gangsters and the like.

However, it was not an era of the following items:

• Talking movies (There wouldn’t be one shown at a U.S. theater until “The Jazz Singer” starring Al Jolson in 1927). 
• Bubble gum (Walter Diemer came up with that in 1928 for his employer, Fleer Chewing Gum Company).
• Sliced bread (Not until 1928).
• Pop-up toaster (Showed up in 1927, thus apparently spurring the slicing of the bread the following year).
• Mickey Mouse (Disney created the character in 1928).
• Kool-Aid (1927).
• Aerosol cans (1926).
• Frozen food (thanks to Clarence Birdseye for this in 1929).

There’s a lot of other stuff that wasn’t around in 1925. Like iPads and nitro-burning funny cars.

But, when this movie finally comes out, if you see anybody throwing slices of bread into a pop-up toaster or blowing a big pink bubble with their gum while watching a “talkie,” you can put that down on the Goofs section on IMDb.com.