As a grocer in Oklahoma, Sylvan Goldman had a hunch that he was losing business because customers only bought as much as they could carry.
Stuff of Genius tells the story behind everyday inventions. From the bikini to super wheat and everything in between. Viewers will learn the stories of unsung inventor heroes and their trials, tribulations and successes.
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Behold the shopping cart. But where did it come from?
Meet Sylvan Goldman, born in 1898.
As a grocer in Oklahoma, Sylvan Goldman had a hunch that he was losing business -- but how?
Turns out the customers bought only as much as they could carry -- once the wire-framed basket used to haul groceries was full, most customers just called it a day.
Goldman knew that if his customers could carry more, they'd also buy more.
Inspired by a folding chair, Goldman invented the world's first shopping cart in 1937.
He called this contraption a 'folding basket carrier,' because it held two baskets on a wheeled assembly and folded up for storage.
The public didn't readily take to this invention, so Goldman hired fake shoppers to walk around using the carts.
The publicity paid off, and by 1940, Goldman's patented basket carrier was a popular item in grocery stores coast to coast.
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