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Only History Buffs Will Know the Fact from Fiction in these Unbelievable Stories

Khalid Elhassan May 11, 2021 37 min

13. Fact or Fiction: Is Betty White the Greatest Thing Since Sliced Bread?

Fiction. Betty White is an entertainment dynamo who has been performing for over 70 years. A television pioneer, White’s accomplishments include being the first woman to produce a sitcom. She is perhaps best known for her Emmy-winning roles as Sue Ann Nivens in the popular and groundbreaking sitcom The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and as Rose Nylund in the even more popular and groundbreaking sitcom, The Golden Girls. As of 2021, her career has lasted over 80 years, during which she won a Grammy, eight Emmy Awards in various categories, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, and three American Comedy Awards. She is in the Television Hall of Fame and has her own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Today, Betty White holds the record for the longest television career of any female entertainer, and few if any celebrities are more beloved in America than the last surviving Golden Girl. Something about her upbeat and cheerful grandmotherly presence just puts smiles on faces, and that has made her into America’s sweetheart – one who polls frequently rank as the country’s most popular and trusted celebrity. Everybody, it seems, loves Betty White, and she is sometimes referred to as “the best thing since sliced bread“. However, is that claim based on fact? Is America’s sweetheart really the best thing since sliced bread?

Did You Know?: The US Tried to Ban Sliced Bread During WWII.

Written by

Khalid Elhassan

A lifelong history buff, I developed a particular passion for WW2 history as a child, when I spent hours listening to my grandfather, enraptured, as he recounted his wartime experiences in the British East African Campaign and with the British 8th Army in North Africa.

I graduated with a history BA from George Mason University, then went on to get a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. After lawyering for a decade, I moved to sunny Rio de Janeiro and a less demanding career, opening a tourism agency in Copacabana.

A big chunk of my free time is spent blogging (you can follow me on Quora https://www.quora.com/profile/Khalid-Elhassan ) or freelance writing, mostly about my favorite subject, history.