On October 7, 1952, the first patent [PDF] for a barcode was issued. Today, Google is celebrating the anniversary with a special logo. Why not generate your own or find out how they work. In addition to generally making things easier, barcodes also have to power to mesmerize world leaders.
posted by Deathalicious on Oct 6, 2009 - 49 comments

Make your own Jackson Pollock. Also, your own snowflake, your individual barcode, a weird vessel/flying disk, and flowers.
posted by frobozz on May 26, 2007 - 11 comments

ALL THE BARCODES. Awesome, pointless geekery.
posted by Pretty_Generic on May 18, 2005 - 23 comments

Bar code art is pretty neat. There are bar code portraits of various people from the king to the king of kings. There's also a very cool bar code clock. And there's even a set of bar codes for the drug industry. There's even a short intro to bar codes.
posted by riffola on Aug 31, 2003 - 5 comments

Re-Code - the revolutionary new way to shop where You Choose The Price! I don't know why it's taken this long, I really don't.
posted by Pretty_Generic on Apr 6, 2003 - 21 comments

Beyond the bar code: Tags on retail products will send radio signals to their manufacturers, collecting information about consumer habits -- and raising privacy concerns. Radio tag technology is already here, used in fields such in livestock, freight-train cargo and highway tolls. The only barrier to widespread use is consumer products is price. When they can be made for a penny, expect to see them everywhere. From the March issue of MIT Technology Review.
posted by jhiggy on Feb 20, 2001 - 13 comments

"As of November 2000, I will no longer respond to questions concerning this subject." So says frustrated inventor of the UPC barcode George J. Laurer. You know, the question about barcodes, 666 and the Mark of the Beast. "It is simply a coincidence like the fact that my first, middle, and last name all have 6 letters. " Sure thing, George, we really believe you...
posted by lagado on Dec 8, 2000 - 8 comments

Wondering what to do with your :CueCat? These guys have got some answers.
posted by Steven Den Beste on Oct 11, 2000 - 6 comments

Have you ever wondered about what bar codes really mean? Or how to generate them? Barcode 1 is a neat resource. Even cooler is the Barcode Server, which will generate codes for you. Finally, you can look up bar codes for your favorite products at the UPC Database.
posted by tdecius on Sep 18, 1999 - 0 comments