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Setting the Bar

June 26, 2013

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Profile America -- Wednesday, June 26th. The person's name is not known, but whoever bought a pack of chewing gum at the Marsh Supermarket in Troy, Ohio on this day 39 years ago was making history. It was the first purchase of an item to be scanned into a cash register by using the Universal Product Code -- much better known as the bar code. Realizing the significance of the event, the buyer returned the item -- a 10-pack of Wrigley's Juicy Fruit -- which is now on display at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. Today, the bar code is part of everyday life for all of those who shop and work in America's more than 1.1 million retail stores. You can find current data on the country's economy by downloading the new "America's Economy" mobile application at <www.census.gov/mobile>.

Sources: www.wrigley.com/global/brands/juicy-fruit.aspx
Statistical Abstract of the United States 2012, t. 1042
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/cats/wholesale_retail_trade/establishments_sales_payroll_and_employees.html