In 1937, Sylvan Goldman, owner of the Humpty Dumpty supermarket chain in Oklahoma City, introduced an invention that transformed the grocery industry: the shopping cart. Noticing that customers stopped buying items as soon as their handheld wire baskets became too heavy, Goldman joined a metal folding chair with wheels and two wire baskets to create a mobile carrier. His innovation allowed shoppers to comfortably transport far more goods, forever altering consumer habits and laying the groundwork for modern self-service supermarkets.