In a world where barcodes are everywhere, it’s easy to forget there was a “first” for everything. The very first product ever scanned using a Universal Product Code (UPC) was a simple 10-pack of Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit gum. This historic moment happened at exactly 8:01 a.m. on June 26, 1974, at a supermarket in Troy, Ohio. The price? Just 67 cents. What seemed like an ordinary purchase at the time turned into a technological milestone that revolutionized retail forever. That very pack of gum wasn’t thrown away or forgotten—it’s now preserved at the Smithsonian Institution , a reminder of the moment shopping entered the digital age.
Bizzare, funny, and amazing facts about pretty much everything!