On today’s date in 1973, a small supermarket in Troy Ohio became the testing grounds for the world’s first commercial bar code scanner. At 8:01 am, Sharon Buchanan scanned a 10-pack of Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit gum and changed retail forever.
In fact, the receipt from that transaction is now enshrined in the Smithsonian. So happy 35th birthday bar code scanning—we will have you to thank when the government herds us up and begins tracking our every move. [Thanks Chris!]
