The Barcode

A barcode is a pattern of black and white lines printed on products. A scanner reads the lines to find out what the product is and how much it costs. Barcodes help stores work faster.

How the Barcode Was Invented

The barcode was invented in the 1950s by Norman Woodland and Bernard Silver. Woodland got the idea by drawing lines in sand at the beach. He thought a pattern of thick and thin lines could store information.

The first product scanned with a barcode at a store was a pack of gum in 1974. After that, barcodes spread to almost every product you can buy.

How Barcodes Work

Each barcode has a unique pattern of lines. A laser scanner shines a light on the barcode. The scanner reads the pattern and sends the information to a computer. The computer looks up the product name and price.

Barcodes make checkout lines much faster. Before barcodes, store workers had to type in the price of every item by hand. Barcodes are also used in libraries, hospitals, and airports.

Fun Facts

• The first product ever scanned with a barcode was a pack of Wrigley's chewing gum.
• There are over 5 billion barcode scans every single day around the world.
• The inventor of the barcode got the idea from Morse code dots and dashes.

Did You Know?

The very first barcode design was shaped like a circle, not the rectangle we see today.