The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread

         During our food talks in class today, one student asked me why sandwiches in the US are triangles. I confirmed the question. "Triangles, as in a triangle?" The class nodded in response. Last year, the English assistant was from Trinidad and Tobago; apparently, she showed them pictures of sandwiches cut tea-style. The entire class thought that bread was produced in triangular shapes in English-land. I burst out laughing, thinking of how difficult it would be to match two slices of bread perfectly - sandwiches would be sloppy joes, indeed. I drew a piece of sliced bread on the board, took two different colors of chalks, and showed how bread could be cut diagonally or vertically. They were amazed.
         Then I got to thinking, why do we have sandwiches cut in triangles, or, for that matter, in rectangles? Luckily, NPR hosted the great sandwich slicing debate several years ago and determined that, "Chefs, foodies, an architect and even a mathematician all told us that diagonal rules." The diagonal cut exposes the interior of the sandwiches and tantalizes your senses. It also allows crust-haters to avoid the crust, and graceful eaters to avoid shoving a huge side in their mouths. NPR also posits that triangles are superior because they are reminiscent of the Holy Trinity and the Star of David... Read for yourself! Who knew sandwiches were so much fun?!