Piggly Wiggly was the first self-service grocery store. It was founded on September 6, 1916 (although it did not open until five days later due to delays in construction), at 79 Jefferson Avenue in Memphis, Tennessee, by Clarence Saunders.
Pictured: Grand opening of the Piggly Wiggly in Encino, California in 1962.
At the time of its founding, grocery stores did not allow customers to gather their goods. Instead, a customer would give a list of items to a clerk, who would then collect them throughout the store. This created greater costs and higher prices. Piggly Wiggly introduced the innovation of allowing customers to go through the store, gathering their goods, thus cutting costs and lowering prices. Losses due to easier shoplifting were more than offset by profits from increased impulse purchasing. Others were initially experimenting with this format, which came to be known as a "groceteria", reminding people of cafeterias, another relatively new, self-service idea.
At its peak in 1932, the company operated 2,660 stores and posted annual sales in excess of $180 million.
Today, there are 499 Piggly Wiggly grocery stores in the Midwest and South.
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Arguably, this is the first ever human portrait photograph, taken in France in 1837 by the French camera pioneeer, Louis Daguerre. On the back is written "M. Huet 1837", as well as first letters of Daguerre's signature.