Barcodes are something that you most likely encounter on a daily basis, but you probably don’t spend too much time thinking about them. While looking at a barcode won’t tell you much about it, barcodes in general actually have a rich and interesting history, and they often work in surprising ways. We’re here to tell you about a few fun barcode facts that you may not have known about.
Today just about everyone has a phone, and most people with a phone play games on it from time to time. But did you know that one of the first mobile games actually involved barcodes? That’s right, back in 1991 before people had games on their phones, there was a mobile device called the Barcode Battler. This gaming system worked by scanning barcodes that the system came with, each of which represented a different player or power up that could be used in a battle.
Although we previously covered the fact that the first barcode that was scanned on a product was a pack of Wrigley’s gum, that’s not actually the first use of a barcode in history. Although they didn’t look the same as the barcodes we have today, they were first used on railroad cars in order to label them.
Finally, did you know that the way barcodes work is actually pretty similar to Morse code? Instead of using dashes and dots, barcodes simply use spaces and lines that have varying degrees of thickness.
We hope you’ve learned something new and interesting about the barcode. For more information and news about barcodes and scanners, stay tuned to our blog!
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