Universal Product Code

[yoo-nuh-vur-suhl prod-uhkt kohd, yoo-nuh-vur-suhl]

noun

1. a barcode that indicates price, product classification, etc., and can be read electronically, as at checkout counters in supermarkets. UPC

Word History and Origins

Origin of Universal Product Code¹

First recorded in 1970–75

Example Sentences

Officially called the Universal Product Code, it made its debut in 1974 when a scanner registered 67 cents for a 10-pack of Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit chewing gum at a Marsh supermarket in Troy, Ohio.

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The result, a zebralike pattern of vertical black lines, became the basis for the modern bar code — the Universal Product Code — which shook up everything from retail to air travel, marathon races to medical devices.

Read more on Washington Post

Later it helped to set up NASA, and helped to invent the Universal Product Code — the bar code.

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That pattern became the basis for the Universal Product Code, which was adopted by a consortium of grocery companies in 1973, when cashiers were still punching in all prices by hand.

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In the end, it took a massive effort – and massive investments – to get the Universal Product Code adopted by millions of manufacturers, distributors and retailers.

Read more on The Guardian