text:  It was 50 years ago today that a pack of gum made history. It's a sound that may fade into the background at many stores today, but 50 years ago, that beep marked the first use of a consumer barcode. It happened at Marsh Supermarket in Troy, Ohio, where a customer bought a 10-pack of Wrigley's chewing gum. Today, more than 10 billion barcodes are scanned every day.