Wouldn't you know it, the conveyor belt sushi is 50 years old this month!
Yoshiaki Shiraishi (1914-2001) opened the first conveyor belt sushi Mawaru Genroku Sushi in Osaka in 1958. The concept has revolutionised the Japanese food culture, with thousands of conveyor belt sushi restaurants operating around the world.
According to Wikipedia, Yoshiaki was inspired to invent the conveyor belt sushi after watching beer bottles on a conveyor belt in an Asahi brewery.
Link | Wikipedia entry on Conveyor Belt Sushi - Thanks Jee!
(Photo: mstephens7 [Flickr])
A famous video clip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWQR36dW0GA&feature=related