History of the Barcode: From Sand to Supermarkets

Have you ever wondered about those black and white lines on the back of your bag of chips? We hear the beep at the checkout counter every day, but we rarely think about where that sound comes from.

The history of the barcode is a fascinating story. It involves a beach, some sand, and a pack of chewing gum. Before these lines existed, cashiers had to type in the price of every single item by hand. It was slow, and people made mistakes. Today, we will explore how a simple idea solved a global problem.

How the History of the Barcode Began

The story starts way back in 1948. A graduate student named Bernard Silver overheard a conversation. A local grocery store owner was asking a dean at an engineering school to figure out a way to automatically read product information at the checkout. The dean wasn’t interested, but Silver was.

Silver told his friend, Norman Woodland, about the problem. They decided to invent a solution. They tried a few ideas that didn’t work, like using special ink that glowed under ultraviolet light. It was too expensive and the ink faded too easily. They needed something simpler.

The “Aha!” Moment on the Beach

Norman Woodland wanted to focus on this invention, so he went to stay at his grandfather’s apartment in Miami, Florida. One day, he went to the beach to think.

Woodland was thinking about Morse Code. Morse Code uses dots and dashes to send messages. As he sat in the sand, he poked his fingers into the ground. He dragged his fingers through the sand, making long lines instead of dots.

He realized that if he stretched the dots and dashes of Morse Code into long, thin lines, a machine might be able to read them. This moment in the sand was the true beginning of the history of the barcode.

The First Barcode Shape Was a Bullseye

Woodland and Silver filed a patent for their invention in 1949. However, the first barcode didn’t look like the rectangle we see today. It looked like a bullseye.

Imagine a target with many circles inside each other. They used this round shape because they wanted the scanner to be able to read the code no matter which way the product was turned.

Why the Bullseye Failed

While the idea was great, the technology at the time wasn’t ready. To read the code, they used a very bright light bulb (like the ones used in movies). These bulbs were huge, very hot, and expensive. It was dangerous to have them at a checkout counter. Because computers were also huge and expensive back then, the invention sat on the shelf for nearly 20 years.

The Laser Changes the History of the Barcode

In the 1970s, technology finally caught up. The invention of the laser changed everything. Lasers could read the dark and light lines much better than old light bulbs.

A group of grocery companies formed a committee to find a standard code that everyone could use. This is when the Universal Product Code (UPC) was born.

A team at IBM, including Norman Woodland (the original inventor!), designed the rectangular block of lines we know today. They realized the “bullseye” shape smeared too easily when printed. The vertical lines were cleaner and easier for the new laser scanners to read.

The First Item Ever Scanned

On June 26, 1974, the history of the barcode reached a major milestone. At a Marsh Supermarket in the state of Ohio, a cashier named Sharon scanned the very first product with a UPC code.

It was a 10-pack of Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit chewing gum.

Why gum? It wasn’t planned specially. It just happened to be the first item a customer pulled out of their cart. That pack of gum is now in a museum!

Benefits of Barcodes in Daily Life

The barcode didn’t just help lines move faster. It changed how businesses work all over the world. Here is why they are so important:

• Speed: Checkout lines are much faster than typing prices by hand.
• Accuracy: Computers make fewer mistakes than humans. You get charged the right price.
• Inventory: Stores know exactly how many items they have left on the shelf.
• Tracking: Companies can track a package from the warehouse to your front door.

From Simple Lines to QR Codes

The history of the barcode is still being written. Today, we have evolved beyond simple vertical lines. You have probably seen square codes called QR codes (Quick Response codes).

While a standard barcode holds information horizontally (side-to-side), a QR code holds data both horizontally and vertically. This allows it to hold much more information, like website links or restaurant menus. Whether it is a simple UPC on a soda can or a QR code on a concert ticket, the goal remains the same: to share information quickly and accurately.

FAQ

Who are the inventors of the barcode?

The original inventors were Norman Woodland and Bernard Silver. They came up with the idea in the late 1940s. Norman Woodland later worked with IBM to create the rectangular version we use in stores today.

Why are there numbers under the barcode?

The numbers are there for humans to read. If the scanner cannot read the lines because the package is wrinkled or the label is ripped, the cashier can type these numbers into the register manually.

What does the barcode actually tell the computer?

The barcode itself usually doesn’t contain the price. It mostly contains an ID number for that specific product. The computer scans the ID number, looks it up in the store’s database, and finds the current price and name of the item.

Are barcodes the same all over the world?

Mostly, yes. The system is standardized globally so that a product made in one country can be scanned in another. However, there are different types of codes (like EAN and UPC) depending on the region, but the technology works the same way.