How the anti-aging industry turns you into a customer for life...

[Collateral Damage]

I am 52 and have been carded (the only grey is in my beard, and if I am shaved I look a lot younger than 52).

I didn't realize you were such a young pup. Most guys seem to go gray (or white, as the case may be) in their beard/mustache long before the hair on their heads.

[carolina73]

It helps to have good genes and to stay out of the sun beyond healthy benefits.

I shop for groceries on Thursdays. I always buy one or two bottles of wine. It is fun to watch the check out clerk wrestle with the decision to card me as their policy is to card everyone aged 40 and below. I am 69 but have all my hair and have almost no gray.

I don't know about other states but in SC they can get fired for not asking. Management does not care about the carding nonsense but they train them to card everyone.
This is just because they will get hit if an ABC board agent sees someone not getting carded.
For the cashier, if they want to get rid of them then this is an easy thing to snag them on and it is in the manual they received.