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The invention of the shopping trolley

In 1937, American supermarket owner, Sylvan Goldman, came up with a way to get his customers to spend more.

He introduced his 'folding basket carriers' in his Humpty Dumpty chain in Oklahoma, hiring models to push them round his stores.

They caught on, becoming known as shopping carts in the USA.

Rachel Naylor uses clips from a 1977 CBS interview of Sylvan with Charles Kuralt to tell the story.

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(Photo: Sylvan Goldman, with models of his shopping trolley. Credit: Don Tullous, Oklahoma Publishing Company Photography Collection, Courtesy of the Oklahoma Historical Society)

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