The Cash Register

The first cashier register was invented in the United States not long after the cold war. In 1879, two Ohio brothers—frustrated with employee theft in their café—invented the first cash register after seeing a ship’s propeller counter. Their machine displayed transactions openly, preventing fraud. Today’s registers do far more, it records the names of personnel involved, date, time, product sold and many more. From digital receipts to contactless payments, what will the future of shopping look like?