Born on June 26
The First Barcode Scan
It began with a pack of gum.
Next: June 26, 2027
Where it comes from
This Story marks the anniversary of 26 June 1974, when the first product marked with a Universal Product Code was scanned at a shop checkout. Just after 8am at the Marsh Supermarket in Troy, Ohio, the cashier Sharon Buchanan scanned a multi-pack of Wrigley's Juicy Fruit chewing gum for Clyde Dawson, Marsh's head of…
How it's celebrated
There is no formal observance, but the town of Troy celebrates the anniversary every few years, and in 2024 a historical marker went up at the site of the old store. One of the first ten scanners is in the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.
Did you know
The bar code's inventor, Joe Woodland, first drew the idea in sand with his fingers, and the design he patented with Bernard Silver looked like a bullseye.
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