“Why do croutons come in airtight packages? It’s just stale bread to begin with”

A popular question is asked about croutons:
   
”“Why do croutons come in airtight packages? It’s just stale bread to begin with.”
 
The question/joke was posted on the newsgroup rec.crafts.textiles.quilting on October 26, 1998.
 
   
Wikipedia: Crouton
A crouton /ˈkruːtɒn/ is a piece of sautéed or rebaked bread, often cubed and seasoned, that is used to add texture and flavor to salads, notably the Caesar salad, as an accompaniment to soups and stews, or eaten as a snack food.
   
Google Groups: rec.crafts.textiles.quilting
WayOT:a few thoughts&the English language
Rita Denenberg
10/26/98
(...)
Why do croutons come in airtight packages?  It’s just stale bread to begin with.
 
9 January 1999, Statesman Journal (Salem, OR), “Whimsy” by Tom Forstram, pg. 1D, col. 1:
Why do croutons come in airtight packages?  It’s just stale bread to begin with.
 
Google Groups: alt.support.arthritis
OTP - Why Why Why?
pbjcb
3/14/99
(...)
Why do croutons come in airtight packages?  It’s just stale bread to begin with.
 
A Prairie Home Companion - Jokes 1999
March 16, 1999
(...)
Why do croutons come in airtight packages? It’s just stale bread to begin with.
Rita Gillmer, Baton Rouge, LA
 
Google Groups: soc.culture.turkish
if why how etc…..
vedat
6/14/00
(...)
Why do croutons come in airtight packages? It’s just stale bread to begin with.
 
Google Books
1001 Internet Jokes:
Get the Jokes You’ve Been Missing
By D. M. Schwab
San Jose, CA: iUniverse.com
2001
Pg. 73:
Why do croutons come in airtight packages? It’s just stale bread to begin with.
 
Google Books
The Mammoth Book of Comic Quotes
By Geoff Tibballs
London: COnstable & Robinson Ltd
2004
Pg. ?:
Why do croutons come in airtight packages? Aren’t they just stale bread?
 
Google Books
Man Walks into a Bar:
Over 6,000 of the Most Hilarious Jokes, Funniest Insults and Gut-Busting One-Liners
By Stephen Arnott and Mike Haskins
Berkeley, CA: Ulysses Press
2007
Pg. 216:
Why do croutons come in airtight packages? Aren’t they just stale bread to begin with?
 
Google Books
Blonde Walks into a Bar:
The 4,000 Most Hilarious, Gut-Busting Gags, One-Liners and Jokes
By Jonathan Swan
Berkeley, CA: Ulysses Press
2008
Pg. ?:
Why do croutons come in airtight packages? Aren’t they just stale bread to begin with?