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Sunday, Jul 12, 2026

Was the shopping cart invented in Oklahoma in 1937?

Matthew Yim, Oklahoma Watch
yes

The shopping cart was invented in 1936 by Sylvan Goldman, who patented and introduced them to his Humpty Dumpty grocery chain in Oklahoma the following year.  

The proliferation of the refrigerator, supermarkets, and car culture meant that shoppers were hauling more food home. Having noticed that women stopped shopping when their baskets became too full or heavy, Goldman and employee Fred W. Young designed his shopping cart – a basket mounted on a folding chair frame on wheels, with a lower deck and basket.

In the local newspaper, Goldman promised his customers would “need not lift a basket or bag” from the time they entered his store until they returned to their cars. 

Despite this, Goldman had to hire models to use his carts before they caught on; men found it effeminate and women disliked its resemblance to strollers.

In 1946, Missourian Orla Watson developed similar telescoping carts that could nest inside each other.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

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