Few People Know That New Jersey Is The Birthplace Of The Barcode Saving Time On Lines For Decades

I like to call New Jersey the cradle of American Innovation. While that may be surprising to some, dozens of life-changing inventions came out of the Garden State. Air conditioning, steam locomotives, t.v. dinners, drive-in theaters, solar cells, bubble wrap, and vacuum cleaners all got their start here — and that list is just the beginning. You likely also know that New Jersey is the birthplace of American baseball, canned condensed soup (courtesy of Campbells), and saltwater taffy. What you may not know is that we’re also the birthplace of the barcode.

Scan, pay, go. It’s that simple! Today, time is saved everywhere we shop thanks to barcodes. They’re so easy to use, you can even scan them yourselves.

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Nearly everything we buy comes with a barcode. But what exactly is a barcode?

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They’re easily recognizable — a series of lines, often accompanied by numbers. We see them nearly every day.

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The technical definition of a barcode is “a method of representing data in a visual, machine-readable form.”

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Inspired by the Morse code, it was patented in 1951 by Atlantic City resident Norman Joseph Woodland and partner Bernard Silver.

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Norman Woodland later worked for IBM, where he adapted the barcode for commercial use as part of the unique UPC codes we see on products today.

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UPCs are scanned by retail laser scanners, also invented in New Jersey by C. Harry Knowles, founder of Metrologic Instruments in Blackwood.

Luke/Wikipedia

While barcodes are still popular today, you’ll also see QR codes. Similar to barcodes, they are capable of containing more data. Initially used in the auto industry, you can now find them all over.

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Fun fact! The first UPC code ever scanned was for a pack of Wrigley’s chewing gum. While the Wrigley Company is based out of Chicago, it is a subsidiary of Mars (as in M&M Mars). Where did Mars (and M&M candies) get their start? Production of the candy that started it all began in 1941 in a factory located in Newark, New Jersey.