r/ImaginarySliceOfBread

Chillicothe is a small town in rural Missouri whose greatest claim to fame is their invention of sliced bread as a commercial product. A bakery innovation so influential that new ideas are often still compared to it: "____ is the greatest thing since sliced bread!"

The town has really leaned into it, too. Their official websites and local art reference sliced bread, and they even have a local holiday (Sliced Bread Day) with its own mascot ("Toasty"). Their current official flag is... somewhat uninspired in my opinion. Driving through, I did spot a flag or two with what looks like the visitor's bureau's logo which I think is a step in the right direction, but we can do better.

My proposal borrows the earth tones of the city's official seal to make what looks like a sliced loaf of bread as seen from above. In the center, we see the top part of the foremost slice forms the letter "C", the town's initial, which I colored a slightly toastier shade of brown for emphasis. The successive slices also give the impression of "moving forward" as innovation is really the town's point of pride.

On a slightly darker note, Chillicothe has a somewhat problematic history with racial segregation. The alternating dark and light crescents could be seen as a clear message that such things are well in the past.

Of course, no town can be reduced down to one basic theme; like any place, Chillicothe has a rich history, industry, and culture... yadda, yadda, yadda... But c'mon-- if your town has claim to what has become the gold standard for invention, that's worth designing your flag around it! Any attempt to capture everything about a city ends up an a garbled mess anyway. I think my design is simple, clear, and unique.

Chillicothe Baking Company's first commercial debut of sliced bread was on July 7, 1928, nearly a century ago. I think it'd be cool if the city adopted this new flag as part of their 100-year anniversary celebration in two years. What do you think?