Book 3, Question 148
Why Does a Cash Register Beep?
The beep is a confirmation sound. It means a scan or key press worked. So the machine sings one short note, instead of making the cashier look down every time!
From the book
Page from A Million Whys Book 3
More fun facts
- The beep at checkout tells the cashier that the scanner read the barcode correctly.
- Many scanners can make a different error beep when a code does not match what they expect.
- A good read beep can last from about 2 hundredths of a second to 3 tenths of a second.
- Stores can change the beep's pitch and loudness. One scanner has 20 volume levels.
- The first barcode scan at a supermarket happened at 8:01 in the morning on June 26, 1974, in Troy, Ohio.
- Cashier Sharon Buchanan scanned a 10 pack of Juicy Fruit gum, and the register rang up 67 cents.
- That pack of gum is now displayed at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.
Sources: assets.grandandtoy.com, wired.com
Questions kids ask
What was the first thing ever scanned at a supermarket?
A 10 pack of Juicy Fruit gum, scanned in Troy, Ohio, on June 26, 1974. It rang up 67 cents.