Birthday of the Barcode

The Barcode is 40 years old.  Like with many computing anniversaries, the age seems small.  My enterprise was involved with its development, standardization and use in manufacturing and retail.  I tested packaging designs against code reading machines.  We also tested a broad number of potential replacements, none of which have taken over for general identification use.    More at the link.  " ... Forty years ago yesterday, a cashier at a Marsh Supermarket in Ohio scanned a pack of gum and the Uniform Product Code (UPC) took its first step to becoming the standard for tracking merchandise at retail. ... "