On this date in 1879, a patent was issued to one James Ritty for a cash register. 10 things you might not know about cash registers:
The inventor, James Jacob Ritty, was a saloonkeeper in Dayton Ohio. He opened his first saloon there in 1871, billing himself as a "Dealer in Pure Whiskies, Fine Wines, and Cigars." He had problems, however, with staff who would keep the money customers paid for their booze and fags for themselves.
In 1878 he went on a steamboat trip to Europe. He saw a machine which counted the number of times the ship’s propeller went round, and was inspired to create a machine that would record cash transactions.
He went home and consulted with his brother, John, who was a mechanic. Together they came up with the device they patented on this date, and called it "Ritty's Incorruptible Cashier".
The brothers opened a factory to make the machines, but it didn’t do well, possibly because James didn’t want to let go of the saloon business and was trying to run them both at the same time. In the end, he sold the factory and the new owners re-named it The National Cash Register Company.
Some of their early designs were considered to be luxury items and were designed by Tiffany and Co.
Early models were mechanical, with buttons and a bell to signal transactions. Charles F. Kettering added an electric motor in 1906.
It is sometimes called a till or automated money handling system.
Bill Bryson has suggested that one reason for pricing which isn’t a round dollar or pound is because the employee would have to use the cash register in order to issue change and so the sale would be recorded.
The self-service till, which became popular in the 1990s, was invented by David R Humble. By 2013, there were over 200,000 of them in operation around the world.
Cash registers now are more like computers and have digital displays and Internet connectivity.
Beta
(Combat Team Series #2)
Steff was abducted by an evil alien race, the Orbs, at fourteen. Used as a weapon for years, he eventually escapes, but his problems are just beginning. How does a man support himself when his only work experience is a paper round and using an Orb bio-integrated gun?
Warlord is an alien soldier who knows little but war. When the centuries-old conflict which ravaged his planet ends, he seeks out another world where his skills are still relevant. There are always wars on Earth, it seems. However, none of Earth's powerful armies want him.
Natalie has always wanted to visit England and sees a chance to do so while using her martial arts skills, but there are sacrifices she must make in order to fulfil her dream.
Maggie resorted to crime to fund her sister's medical care. She uses her genetic variant abilities to gain access to the rooms of wealthy hotel guests. The Ballards look like rich pickings, but they are not what they seem. When Maggie targets them, little does she know that she is walking into a trap.
Hotel owner Hamilton Lonsdale puts together a combat team to pit against those of other multi-millionaires. He recruits Warlord, Natalie, Maggie and Steff along with a trained gorilla, a probability-altering alien, a stockbroker whose work of art proved to be much more than he'd bargained for, a marketing officer who can create psionic forcefields, a teleporting member of the landed gentry, and a socially awkward fixer. This is Combat Team Beta.
Steff never talks about his time with the Orbs, until he finds a woman who lived through it, too. Steff believes he has finally found happiness, but it is destined to be short-lived. He is left with an unusual legacy which he and Team Beta struggle to comprehend; including why something out there seems determined to destroy it.
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