Ok,here’s the story.
My sister-in-law, who is given to, umm, exaggeration, embellishing, etc. (read: she’s a liar) has given my child a cardboard pencil box, like we used to use when I was little (in the 70’s), but I know they still make today.
Written inside this pencil box (which is in pristine condition) is her name and the year 1970. The handwriting looks suspiciously like an adult trying to write like a child. She claims it was her pencil box from third grade. On the bottom of this pencil box is a bar code. There is also a place where the paper is torn, like she put Scotch tape on and ripped it off again to remove something.
My question is this: Were bar codes used on things like this in 1970? Is she full of baloney, as usual?
Can I safely confront her with the truth, that is is NOT as old as she claims? When were bar codes first used and when did they begin to be widely used? Of course, everything today has bar codes, but I can’t remember when they came into wide use.
Thanks!
The Smithsonian Institution’s Museum of American History had an exhibit on the history of the bar code recently. It was the Silver Anniversary of the UPC which was first used in 1974 for a six pack of Juicy Fruit.
Before everyone comes charging in with the patent dates and such, here’s my $0.02:
I can swear to having a conversation about bar codes with a grade school classmate in a period from 1970 to 1973. So your sis-in-law may be lying, but her dates are on or near the money.
I remember the conversation because my buddy called them “zebra codes,” – apparently an early slang or jargon term that never stuck. I always liked “zebra codes” better than “bar codes,” so I remember our chat whenever the subject is discussed.
I do remember reading that as of 1975, all magazines had to have the bar code to be sold.
I also know there are many folk who believe its the mark of the beast, but…
Your Smithsonian reference would seem to discredit Kinsey’s kin and my (admittedly Swiss cheesey) memory.
But (as I vainly try to forestall my trip to the Alsheimer’s [sp?] clinic) were bar codes not used for inventory control and such before they broke out into the retail marketplace?
So much more than you ever want to know about the history of bar codes is on the net so you’ll have that answer shortly (ie the box is forged), but idle curiousity compels me to ask the much more interesting question… Why is it so important to nail your sister in law for the perfidious crime of giving a child a pencil box with a questionable history? Even if she is writing her name in it and claiming it was her’s in school what does this matter and what will confronting her accomplish other than bitter feelings in family relations? It doesn’t seem what she is doing would even qualify as a minor sin (ie embellishing the history of a small gift to a child make it seem more interesting) and you are ready to go to war in the family over this?
Here’s a petty good History of the Bar Code page with links to additional info. As BobT noted, 1974 was year of the current UPC’s retail debut, but the first (non-UPC) scanner system was installed in a Kroger in 1967 (and had problems).
Is the bar code in question UPC? If so, it would appear sis-in-law is blowing smoke.
Whew! The Smithsonian Mag article puts the bar code’s unveiling just inside my memory window (1973). To quote:
“The decision was unanimous. IBM’s rectangular symbol was embraced with only a few modifications, and on April 3, 1973, the Ad Hoc Committee unveiled the Universal Product Code to the world. A little more than a year later, on June 26, 1974, a jumbo pack of Wrigley’s Spearmint gum bearing the UPC code was dragged past a newly installed laser at Marsh’s Supermarket in Troy, Ohio, earning its 15 minutes of fame as the first consumer item with the IBM icon ever to be scanned.”
Astro, it’s not something I am going to war over, it’s just one more thing in a very long history of BS that comes from this person. (too long and involved to go into here…you really don’t want to know…)
I really wanted to know more for my own satisfaction. My question more is why would she feel the need to make up an elaborate history about this pencil box? It is so stupid…just give the kid the pencil box and be done with it! I am not going to “confront” her with anything, but whenever she sees the box, she makes such a big deal out of how it was hers and is old, etc. I may just gently suggest that maybe it’s not that old…considering the bar code and it’s perfect condition. I remember using these boxes myself, and the things were so battered after one school-year of use, we threw them away.
I also remember calling them Zebra codes, Stuyguy, which I also like better than bar codes.
As for if it is a UPC, what is the difference? It is a series of bars with the numbers underneath, which if I recall correctly, the first set of numbers is the manufacturer, right?
Whatever…
BobT…If I saw there was a History of the Bar Code Exhibit, I would be first in line! Sounds interesting!
I saw a bar code scanner in a grocery store in Wyoming before July of 1974–but it was years before most other stores had them. At the time, I remember thinking, well, it’s about time that they finally used those things–they’d been promising such checkout scanners for a long time. And most products already had a code on them by that time. Were they on products as far back as 1970? I’m not sure.
While the standard was set in 1973 the use spread slowly and I do not think it was until the late 70s or even the 80s that their use became more widespread.
