Scanniversary

It's 50!



Fifty years ago, on June 26, 1974, the first universal product code (UPC) was scanned at a Marsh Supermarket in Troy, Ohio, kicking off a retail and supply chain automation revolution.  A confluence of factors contributed to the development of barcodes: a desire to overhaul a labor-intensive grocery store sales process, technology becoming more adaptable and affordable and trade groups collaborating to seek change.


(https://www.forbes.com/sites/katevitasek/2024/06/26/50th-scanniversary-honors-upcs-and-next-generation-barcodes/)


Who could have ever guessed that the barcode would have been such a roaring success?  


A dude named Joe Woodland came up with the barcode, then a guy named George Laurer perfected it into the UPC barcodes we see on everything from books to Spaghetti O's to motor oil to doors/windows.


Sure hope Joe and George got rich off their creations.



More barcode info, if you wanna go deeper:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/history-bar-code-180956704/




Grace & Peace & Love to you all -

Matt



p.s. this is an interesting read/listen on the past, present & future of the barcode:

"If you think about basically everyone, not just in America, but the world, perhaps the symbol that most of us know or encounter most often on a daily basis is not, like, a Nike symbol or a Coke symbol or literally anything else. It’s a barcode."

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