Few objects in the world are more immediately recognizable than the barcode—more than 6 billion are scanned every single day. Here’s what to know about their history.

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 retail giant added “invisible barcodes” to its Great Value items. These allow customers and workers to scan items anywhere on the package—not just on the barcode box.

The barcode marking, in this context, has echoes of the numbers tattooed on the arms of Nazi concentration camp prisoners during the Second World War. Sometimes people do use barcodes malevolently.

DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) – The black and white barcode found on most products is celebrating its 50th anniversary since the first scan right here in the Miami Valley. The first ever Universal Product ...

When I began combing through the archive of barcode history at Stony Brook University, I realized just how close we came to a world where we scan bull’s-eye or sun symbols to buy our groceries ...

When I began combing through the archive of barcode history at Stony Brook University, I realized just how close we came to a world where we scan bull’s-eye or sun symbols to buy our groceries ...