Supermarket price scanner debuts in Troy, Ohio 40 years ago today (June 26 1974)

(Wednesday, June 26, 1974, 8:01 a.m. EDT) — The supermarket price scanner made its debut this morning in Troy, Ohio, as a 10-pack of Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit chewing gum costing 67 cents and bearing a Uniform Product Code (UPC) was scanned by Marsh Supermarket cashier Sharon Buchanan for customer Clyde Dawson.

The barcoded package of gum, never chewed, is on display at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.