Bizzare Facts

The barcode—that black and white striped rectangle now affixed to virtually every commercial product on earth—is the invisible backbone of modern retail. The moment this technology transitioned from a theoretical idea to a practical reality is a specific, delightfully mundane event: the first item ever scanned was a **10-pack of Wrigley's Juicy Fruit gum**.

The historic transaction took place at **8:01 a.m. on June 26, 1974**, at a Marsh Supermarket in Troy, Ohio. The gum was chosen because it was a small, easily handled item, and the cashier, Sharon Buchanan, had to manually pull it over the new laser scanner. That tiny pack of gum was a symbol of an impending revolution in inventory, pricing, and retail efficiency.

That specific pack of Juicy Fruit gum is now preserved as an icon of technological history in the **Smithsonian's National Museum of American History**. The event marks the precise point where the Universal Product Code (UPC) began its domination of commerce, proving that even the most revolutionary shifts in technology can be kicked off by the purchase of a simple, sugary snack.