KEEDOOZLE / THE FIRST FULLY AUTOMATED GROCERY STORE / MEMPHIS TENNESSEE / 1948 In 1937, a Memphis, Tenn., grocer and innovator named Clarence Saunders introduced a bold new concept in shopping for food: History’s first fully automated grocery store. It was called Keedoozle. Saunders was also the founder of Piggly Wiggly. Shopping at the Keedoozle is not as complicated as it sounds. Customers inspect the wares, each item in a separate glass-enclosed case, then insert a key in a slot under the items they wish to buy. Electric impulses cause perforations to be cut in ticker tape attached to the face of the keys. The customers take the tape to the cashier, who inserts it in a translator machine. That sets off more electric impulses which not only start the goods sliding down a conveyor belt, but at the same time add up the bill. In the 3rd picture Clarence Saunders stands with the ticker-tape technology at the heart of Keedoozle, his fully automated grocery store, Memphis, Tenn., 1948.
Posted on: Mon, 01 Sep 2014 05:00:18 +0000
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