If you’re like me, you’ve glanced at barcodes millions of times and wondered, Is this for show or does it really mean something? Learn to crack the code and find out what’s behind all those strange lines and numbers! ,Read Between the Lines ,If you’re like me, you’ve glanced at barcodes millions of times and wondered, Is this for show or does it really mean something? Learn to crack the code and find out what’s behind all those strange lines and numbers!
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What’s black and white and lined all over? No it’s not a zebra. It’s not a zebra crossing either. It’s a barcode. If you’re like me you’ve glanced at barcodes millions of times and wondered Is this for show or does it really mean something? Barcodes aren’t called barcodes for nothing. Those black bars are in fact… code.
What is a Barcode?
Look carefully… can you see numbers and lines? Notice that the lines vary in thickness. Here’s why: Every digit from zero to nine is made up of a rectangle of space divided into seven bars. The bars are arranged in a different pattern of black and white stripes for each digit.
Number one for example has two white stripes two black stripes two white stripes and one black stripe. Number two has two white stripes one black stripe two white stripes and two black stripes. Get the idea? The numbers lines and their thickness are all code… a machine-readable code that identifies a product.
Fun fact: Some people can actually read barcodes without a scanner. You just need to know how each digit is represented.
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