USA - Barcode Patented 7 October 1952
A barcode or bar code is a method of representing data in a visual, machine-readable form. Initially, barcodes represented data by varying the widths, spacings and sizes of parallel lines. These barcodes, now commonly referred to as linear or one-dimensional (1D), can be scanned by special optical scanners, called barcode readers, of which there are several types.
Later, two-dimensional (2D) variants were developed, using rectangles, dots, hexagons and other patterns, called 2D barcodes or matrix codes, although they do not use bars as such. Both can be read using purpose-built 2D optical scanners, which exist in a few different forms. Matrix codes can also be read by a digital camera connected to a microcomputer running software that takes a photographic image of the barcode and analyzes the image to deconstruct and decode the code. A mobile device with a built-in camera, such as a smartphone, can function as the latter type of barcode reader using specialized application software and is suitable for both 1D and 2D codes.
In 1948, Bernard Silver, a graduate student at Drexel Institute of Technology in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US overheard the president of the local food chain, Food Fair, asking one of the deans to research a system to automatically read product information during checkout. Silver told his friend Norman Joseph Woodland about the request, and they started working on a variety of systems. Their first working system used ultraviolet ink, but the ink faded too easily and was expensive.
On 20 October 1949 Woodland and Silver filed a patent application for “Classifying Apparatus and Method,” in which they described both the linear and bull’s eye printing patterns, as well as the mechanical and electronic systems needed to read the code. The patent was issued on 7 October 1952 as US Patent 2,612,994.
-en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcode
Arno's Commentary
Barcodes have become ubiquitous but often go unnoticed by the average consumer. For businesses, it’s profitable; for consumers, it’s practical. Many retail stores give their customers the option to use the self-checkout machine as opposed to standing in line for a cashier.
In the early days of this technology, there was much speculation about these strange symbols appearing on products. Some Christians went further and identified it as the Mark of the Beast. Not so. However, we have the liberty to suggest that not only barcodes, but also all modern technology—beginning with the Industrial Revolution itself—is a process that will eventually lead to the Mark of the Beast.
Technology writes history, and modern days are counted by success. Barcodes are just one small step toward not only controlling inventory, but also the customer.
We notice that these two inventors, Woodland and Silver, are of Jewish descent. They were educated at the liberal Drexel Institute of Technology in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which was tolerant to all religions or none.
The other notable thing is the date of the patent being issued: 7 October 1952; 72 years later, the horrible massacre of Jews took place in Israel, by the diabolical terrorist organization Hamas.
Many ask, what is the future? Our answer is standard when it comes to the future of the world in relationship to the future of Israel: “And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever” (Daniel 2:44).
Arno Froese is the executive director of Midnight Call Ministries and editor-in-chief of the acclaimed prophetic magazines Midnight Call and News From Israel. He has authored a number of well-received books, and has sponsored many prophecy conferences in the U.S., Canada, and Israel. His extensive travels have contributed to his keen insight into Bible prophecy, as he sees it from an international perspective.
