Dive Brief:

• Today marks the 40th birthday of the scannable Uniform Product Code (UPC) -- the little series of bars and numbers that appears on the side of just about everything sold in a store today. 
• The first UPC scan involved a 10-pack of Wrigley's Juicy Fruit gum at a Marsh Supermarket. The price was read by a handmade scanner from the National Cash Register Co. 
• IBM engineer George Laurer is usually credited with inventing the barcode used on that package of gum ... and everywhere else ever since. But Joe Woodland also has a claim to the inventor title.

Dive Insight:

Today, barcodes are ubiquitous in everyday life, even beyond the grocery store. They are used in manufacturing, processing, and even in hospitals to track patients' care. 

But before it became universally recognized, the UPC code was highly controversial among a certain segment of the population. Behold the Mark of the Beast!