On the morning of June 26, 1974, at a supermarket in Troy, Ohio,
a pack of Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit chewing gum became the first
grocery item scanned with a Universal Product Code, or UPC.

The result of years of scientific experimentation and industry cooperation, the UPC barcode would go on to be used well
beyond the grocery checkout counter, becoming a ubiquitous
feature of modern commerce, with billions of barcodes scanned
daily.

Wrigley’s Spearmint is a brand of Wrigley’s chewing gum. It
was launched in 1893.

Gum was originally marketed by being given away free with
the purchase of baking soda. It became so popular that it
was then eventually sold separately as a desired commodity.