June 26, 1974, a modest Marsh supermarket witnessed a quiet revolution unfolded at the checkout counter. A pack of Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit gum—ten sticks, priced at 67 cents—was scanned using a red laser beam, becoming the first product ever processed with a Universal Product Code (UPC). Few could have predicted that this small gesture would usher in a new era for retail and technology alike.
The scanner, a Spectra Physics model developed by NCR Corporation, used helium-neon laser technology—a cutting-edge advancement at the time. But the barcode’s story was decades in the making, a culmination of persistent collaboration between engineers, retail giants, and tech firms, including IBM. Among the pioneers was Norman Joseph Woodland, who famously drew inspiration from Morse code while sketching lines in the sand.
Although the Kroger supermarket chain supported the development of barcode scanning, it was Marsh that took the historic leap. That single scan marked the beginning of a transformation. Today, billions of barcodes are scanned daily, forming the digital thread that weaves together inventory systems, pricing, and supply chains around the globe.
In the decades since, that black-and-white pattern has evolved into a symbol of seamless automation. It paved the way for QR codes in the 1990s and countless innovations that followed. To commemorate the moment, the original pack of gum now rests in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.—a relic of a day when commerce changed forever.
