Tuesday, July 06, 2004
The Barcode
0 comments30 years ago today on June 26, 1974, a revolution begun that changed the way businesses from retail to rental cars to the U.S. military operate. On this day in 1974 a pack of Juicy Fruit chewing gum passed over a bar code scanner at Marsh Supermarket in Troy, Ohio, it was the first commercial transaction involving a bar code. Today, it's hard to imagine a transaction in our daily life that doesn't involve one. Congratulations go to engineer Joe Woodland for the invention, which was so far ahead of it's time it is hard to appreciate. While patented in 1952, grocery store scanners didn't proliferate until the 1980's, although the railroads and General Motors implemented the technology much earlier. By the way, it's interesting to note that Woodland's inspiration for the barcode was Morse Code that he learned as a boy scout.
MY BLOG ARCHIVES
February 2003 /
March 2003 /
April 2003 /
May 2003 /
June 2003 /
July 2003 /
August 2003 /
September 2003 /
October 2003 /
November 2003 /
December 2003 /
January 2004 /
February 2004 /
March 2004 /
April 2004 /
May 2004 /
June 2004 /
July 2004 /
August 2004 /
September 2004 /
October 2004 /
November 2004 /
December 2004 /
January 2005 /
February 2005 /
March 2005 /
April 2005 /
May 2005 /
June 2005 /
July 2005 /
August 2005 /
September 2005 /
October 2005 /
November 2005 /
December 2005 /
January 2006 /
February 2006 /
March 2006 /
April 2006 /
May 2006 /
June 2006 /
July 2006 /
August 2006 /
September 2006 /
October 2006 /
November 2006 /
December 2006 /
January 2007 /
February 2007 /
March 2007 /
April 2007 /
May 2007 /
June 2007 /
July 2007 /
August 2007 /
September 2007 /
October 2007 /
November 2007 /
December 2007 /
February 2008 /
March 2008 /
April 2008 /
May 2008 /
June 2008 /
July 2008 /
August 2008 /
September 2008 /
October 2008 /
November 2008 /
February 2009 /
March 2009 /
April 2009 /
May 2009 /
June 2009 /
November 2009 /