Wonder Bread is a North American brand of white bread. It was originally produced by Taggart Baking Company of Indianapolis and debuted on May 21, 1921, after "blind" promotion with ads that stated only that a "Wonder" was coming on May 21, 1921. It was named by Taggart Vice President Elmer Cline, who was inspired by the International Balloon Race at the Indianapolis Speedway resulting in the red, yellow and blue logo.Taggart was purchased by Continental Baking in 1925. This made Wonder Bread a national brand and added "It's Slo Baked" to the logo. In the 1930s, Continental Baking began shipping Wonder Bread in sliced form, one of the first companies to do so. Unsliced bread returned for a while during World War II due to metal shortages for the war effort that resulted in the unavailability of blades for the slicing machines.During the 1940s Continental Baking began adding vitamins and minerals to Wonder Bread as part of a government-sponsored program of enriching white bread. This development is credited with greatly reducing the incidence of the diseases beriberi and pellagra. In the 1950s, Wonder Bread further expanded advertising of its nutrient enrichments. The company sponsored Howdy Doody with host Buffalo Bob Smith telling the audience, "Wonder Bread builds strong bodies 8 ways. Look for the red, yellow and blue balloons printed on the wrapper." By the 1960s Wonder Bread was advertised with the slogan "Helps build strong bodies 12 ways," referring to the number of added nutrients. In 1986, the lower-calorie Wonder Light bread was introduced.In 1995, Continental Baking was bought by Interstate Bakeries Corporation. In 2000, a California jury in a racial discrimination suit against Interstate Bakeries Corp. awarded twenty plaintiffs $121 million, the second-largest award in U.S. legal history involving a private company accused of such wrongdoing. In 2004, Interstate Bakeries declared bankruptcy, putting the future of Wonder Bread in some doubt.On August 28th 2007, it was announced that Interstate Bakeries would end production of Wonder Bread in the Southern California market, leading to a loss of 1,300 jobs. This is due to a decline in sales, as Southern Californians in particular are partial to whole-grain breads and "premium" loaves.Wonder Bread is produced in Canada by Weston Bakeries. This is not a license, as Weston owns the Wonder trademark in Canada outright, although the packaging is very similar.Wonder Bread is known to several generations of youngsters as being very highly compressible. It is commonly recommended in the treatment of pica, in which small inedible objects are swallowed by a child or dog, and there is some concern that the intestinal tract might be punctured or blocked as a result. The highly compressible bread can form a soft lump around the object(s) in question, allowing it to pass safely. Pop cultureWonder Bread is seen in American culture as the prototypical American-style industrially produced white bread.In the 10th episode of Weeds Season 2, a DEA agent (Peter) is nicknamed Agent Wonderbread and the agent is upset about this new nickname of his in the 11th episode.In Stargate SG-1 episode "200," Teal'c calls Daniel "Wonderbread".Although Wonder Bread is not an actual NASCAR sponsor, it is the official sponsor of Ricky Bobby's #26 Chevrolet Monte Carlo in the 2006 film Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.Wonder Bread is mentioned in the song "Samson" by Regina Spektor on the albums Songs and Begin to Hope.The Hüsker Dü song Folk Lore from New Day Rising makes a reference to Wonder Bread.Tony Soprano called Italian Americans who have only tenuous links to their cultural heritage "Wonder Bread Wops" when talking to Jennifer Melfi in an episode of the critically acclaimed HBO drama series, The Sopranos.Also, the term "Wonder Bread" is often used to describe stereotypical white people. Most times they are considered to be a geek or poser.One item for purchase on "Weird Al" Yankovic's merchandise page is a parody of the Wonder Bread logo, with "White & Nerdy" in place of the brand name.Wonder Bread is also a lesser known symbol of the White Power movement. Its association of "wonder" and goodness with pure whiteness is a symbol of the Aryan nation, though its questionable health value serves as an unwitting and ironic commentary on its use as a symbol of white power.In Scary Movie 3 George makes a reference to Wonder Bread during his rap battle, "I may be white, but my neck is red, I put Miracle Whip on my Wonder Bread."In Scrubs season 2 Laverne says to the Todd "Come here, Wonder Bread" on account of him being white.The temporary Motor City Casino in Detroit, Michigan was built in a former Wonder Bread factory. External linksOfficial websiteCanadian Weston Wonder+