Did you know that the shopping trolley was first used in 1937?

The original design was invented and patented (#2,196,914) by Sylvan Goldman - April 9, 1940. He was the owner of Piggly Wiggly supermarket chain in Memphis, Tennessee. The design was then improved upon by Orla Watson and patented (#2,479,530) on August 16, 1949.

The invention did not catch on immediately. Men found them effeminate; women found them suggestive of a baby carriage. "I've pushed my last baby," an offended woman informed Goldman. After hiring several male and female models to push his new invention around his store and demonstrate their utility, as well as greeters to explain their use, shopping carts became extremely popular.

Reference:

https://ideas.repec.org/p/emn/wpaper/006.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shopping_cart