Sliced bread invented 1928
Sliced bread was invented in 1928, meaning Monty's arrival in North Africa came 14 years after what is proverbially 'the best thing since sliced bread'.
Snapshot · Fin vs History
I Prefer El Alamein’s Early Stuff (with Pierre Novellie) | Monty vs Rommel (Part 3/4)
Explore episode
Jul 6, 2026
Where this was said
The British Experience
At 15:35 · chapter starts 13:30
On 13 August 1942, Montgomery assumed command of the Eighth Army and his first act was to order the burning of all pamphlets and instruction booklets explaining how to retreat in good order. Pierre identifies this as one of Monty's great skills — the kind of morale-boosting symbolic gesture that recalibrates an army's entire psychology. The analogy of 'getting Big Sam in to avoid relegation' is floated and approved. The hosts then play their recurring segment of placing the date relative to historical events: 13 August 1942 is confirmed to be after sliced bread (invented 1928) and before the miniskirt (1964). The group riffs that the window between those two events represents some kind of belle époque — technological progress with intact social conservatism — before the divorce laws of 1969 dissolved the family unit entirely. [1] — Pierre Novellie "On day one, Montgomery ordered every retreat pamphlet and withdrawal instruction manual burned. Pierre explains the genius of it: it's pure…" 13:03
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