Did you know the Universal Product Code is a little-known invention from North Carolina? At IBM, located at the Research Triangle Park in Durham, the late inventor George Joseph Laurer III led a team in the development of the Universal Product Code (UPC), which heightened the efficiency of inventory management, streamlining and revolutionizing industries everywhere. Since then, storing data has never been simpler. Let’s look at the history of this valuable invention.

In the early years, Bob Silver and Norman Joseph Woodland invented the first optically scanned barcode.
https://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/13/business/n-joseph-woodland-inventor-of-the-bar-code-dies-at-91.html?hp
In 1949, they filed the first U.S. patent. Woodland is pictured here explaining the prototype. Other inventors added to this important body of work over the years.
Fast forward to Jan. 24, 1966, when the first employees went to work at the newly constructed IBM-Research Triangle Park.
Matt Walter/Flickr
In the 1970s, engineer George Laurer worked at that IBM location, a pivotal contributor, and filed a patent for the UPC barcode design in 1973.
The original uploader was PhilFree at French Wikipedia., CC BY 1.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
It first appeared on a 10-piece pack of Wrigley’s gum on June 26, 1974, at a Marsh Supermarket in Troy, Ohio, the first in the world to use a barcode scanner. One of the first 10 scanners, the Spectra Physics model, sits in the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.

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The UPC barcode is comprised of bars and spaces that give each item a unique number.
Anomie, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
This invention has streamlined the capturing and processing of data and remains an essential component of many businesses today.
Thanks to the technology, we can utilize the handy, self-checkout registers when they are available.
Mds08011, CC BY 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
At a Naval Air Station in Sigonella, Sicily, an employee uses a barcode scanner to inventory cases of ammunition at the station's weapons department.
U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 2nd Class Damon J. Moritz., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Today, the Research Triangle Park remains a hub for technology and biotech companies.
The Research Triangle Park/Facebook
It is conveniently close to three major research universities: North Carolina State University, Duke, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Watch this interesting video for the rest of the story.

Discover more about this little-known invention from North Carolina on the George J. Laurer website. Read about 13 other fantastic inventions from The Tar Heel State. And find barcodes and related items on Etsy.

If you’re from The Tar Heel State, be sure to show off your strong roots in North Carolina. Use the coupon code NorthCarolina10 for 10 percent off of your purchase.

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