The first modern barcode was scanned 50 years ago this summer – on a 10-pack of chewing gum in a grocery store in Troy, Ohio. Fifty is ancient for most technologies, but barcodes are still going ...

The first modern barcode was scanned 50 years ago this summer—on a 10-pack of chewing gum in a grocery store in Troy, Ohio. Fifty is ancient for most technologies, but barcodes are still going strong.

Once upon a time, a restless cashier would eye each and every item you, the consumer, purchased and key it into the register. This took skill but also time—and proved to be an imperfect way to keep ...

One of the earliest forms of the bar code will celebrate its 40th anniversary Thursday, June 26. On that date in 1974, a 10-pack of Juicy Fruit Gum was scanned for its Universal Product Code (UPC) at ...

It’s hard to believe that the invention of the UPC — first used by railroads almost 100 years ago and then introduced to speed grocery checkout lines back in 1974 — hasn’t changed. Groundbreaking at ...

If the checkout scanner malfunctions when you’re picking up a last-minute gift on your way to a birthday party, all hope is not lost—the cashier can complete the transaction by entering the number ...

Forty years ago today, a cashier at a Marsh Supermarket in Troy, Ohio, scanned a 10-pack of Wrigley's Juicy Fruit gum bearing an odd-looking set of alternating black and white lines. The barcode had ...