Scanniversary
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.
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/