Introduced in 1973, the Universal Product Code, or "bar code," quickly became a ubiquitous part of everyday life. Today, the UPC helps track and identify retail products, manufacturing materials, event tickets, chemicals, hospital patient information and more.
The first scan of the UPC occurred on June 26, 1974. That day, a shopper by the name of Clyde Dawson purchased a 10-pack of Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit chewing gum from cashier Sharon Buchanan at the Marsh Supermarket in Troy, Ohio. The scan was successful, and the gum rang up at 67 cents.
Wrigley’s®, Juicy Fruit® and all affiliated designs used courtesy of WM Wrigley Jr. Company
QR codes, or 2D bar codes, are the next generation of the bar code, storing more information than the standard UPC bar code. Initially used for tracking parts in vehicle manufacturing, QR codes can be scanned by the camera of a smartphone to provide users with additional information or a URL link to a website in the phone’s browser. QR codes can be found on magazines, buses, environmental signs and business cards. This QR code says IBM.