We all know that it’s holiday shopping season, but did you know the shopping cart was created by Jewish inventor Sylvan Goldman? He was born in 1898 to Jewish immigrants in Oklahoma. After serving in WWI, Sylvan opened a wholesale fruit and produce store with his brother Alfred. During a trip to California, the brothers observed the rise of a new concept in shopping: the supermarket, which introduced the convenience of having a variety of products all under one roof. Soon, they purchased several grocery stores and markets across Oklahoma, pioneering the supermarket concept in their home state. In 1934, Sylvan purchased the struggling Humpty-Dumpty grocery chain and noticed that customers were limited in their purchases by what could fit in a handheld basket. His idea was to combine a carriage with a wire basket, and so, in 1937, the shopping cart was born. The rest, as they say, is history. Sylvan revolutionized shopping, and today, on average, Americans use 15 million shopping carts each day.
Photo: Goldman in 1976, Oklahoma Historical Society
