What happened on June 26 - Interesting US History

Facebook

Twitter

Digg

Stumbleupon

Yahoo My Web

A Website Devoted to Interesting Events in U.S. History

ON THIS DAY IN UNITED STATES HISTORY

June 26, 1974

The First Sale is Made Using a UPC Code

On this day in 1974, the UPC (Universal Product Code) was first used for an actual sale for the first time at a Marsh Supermarket in Troy, Ohio. The item sold was a 10-pack of Wrigley's chewing gum (the price was 67 cents). The UPC is a 12 digit code divided into two groups of 6. Each digit is represented by a series of seven bars designed in such a way to make each digit as different as possible from the others in order to increase the reliability.

The idea of an automated checkout system had been around since 1932 and a patent was granted for a bull's-eye style code in 1952. In the 1960's, railroads experimented with a barcode system for tracking railcars but it never caught on. The first practical system, the UPC code which is still in use today, was developed when a group of grocery trade groups fromed the Uniform Grocery Product Code Council along with consultants and other technology companies that included IBM, RCA, and several others.

Home Page

On This Day

Interesting History Facts

◦

The Star Spangled Banner

◦

The Mayflower Beer Run

◦

Women in the Civil War

◦

The Gettysburg Address

◦

The First Submarine

◦

New York Dixie

◦

Interesting Civil War Facts

◦

Our Founding Fathers

◦

The War of 1812

◦

Sherrod Bryant

Interesting History Myths

◦	Myth: George Washington was the First President of the United States
◦	Myth: Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone
◦	Myth: Daniel Boone wore a coonskin cap
◦	Myth: Betsy Ross designed the first American flag
◦	Myth: Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin
◦	Myth: Christopher Columbus discovered the earth is round
◦	Myth: Abraham Lincoln's childhood log cabin is on display in Hodgenville, Kentucky
◦	Myth: The Civil War was all about slavery
◦	Myth: In April of 1775, Paul Revere rode through the streets from Boston to Lexington yelling "The British Are Coming"
◦	Myth: The Pilgrims lived in log cabins
◦	Myth: During the Civil War, Lincoln once said about Grant's drinking: "If I knew what brand he used, I'd send every general a barrel"
◦	Myth: Charles Lindbergh was the first man to fly nonstop across the Atlantic
◦	Myth: George Washington fathered several children by his slaves
◦	Myth: The Battle of Bunker Hill was fought on Bunker Hill
◦	Myth: When Confederate president, Jefferson Davis was arrested after the Civil War, he was wearing his wife's clothes
◦	Myth: The Liberty Bell rang on July 4, 1776 in celebration of American independence
◦	Myth: The reason Germany got off to such a fast start in World War II was because of its pre-war preparations

Presidential Facts / Trivia

◦	Presidents Adams through Jackson (alphabetic)
◦	John Adams
◦	John Quincy Adams
◦	Chester Arthur
◦	James Buchanan
◦	George H.W. Bush
◦	George W. Bush
◦	Jimmy Carter
◦	Grover Cleveland
◦	Grover Cleveland (2nd term)
◦	William J. Clinton
◦	Calvin Coolidge
◦	Dwight Eisenhower
◦	Millard Fillmore
◦	Gerald Ford
◦	James Garfield
◦	Ulysses S. Grant
◦	Warren Harding
◦	Benjamin Harrison
◦	William Henry Harrison
◦	Rutherford B. Hayes
◦	Herbert Hoover
◦	Andrew Jackson
◦	Presidents Jefferson through Wilson (alphabetic)
◦	Thomas Jefferson
◦	Andrew Johnson
◦	Lyndon Johnson
◦	John F. Kennedy
◦	Abraham Lincoln
◦	James Madison
◦	William McKinley
◦	James Monroe
◦	Richard Nixon
◦	Barack Obama
◦	Franklin Pierce
◦	James Polk
◦	Ronald Reagan
◦	Franklin D. Roosevelt
◦	Theodore Roosevelt
◦	William H. Taft
◦	Zachary Taylor
◦	Harry Truman
◦	John Tyler
◦	Martin Van Buren
◦	George Washington
◦	Woodrow Wilson

Civil War Generals

Origin of Common Items

Accidental Inventions

History Quizzes

Newletter Archive

◦	Lincoln's Pocket Watch
◦	George Washington: The Man (part 1)
◦	George Washington: The Man (part 2)
◦	The True Story of Bass Reeves
◦	The True Story of Sam Wilson
◦	The Incredible Story of Sam Whittemore
◦	Julia and Hiram
◦	The Boston Massacre Lawyer
◦	Women in the American Civil War
◦	Beyond the Medal
◦	Jackson and Benton
◦	Arnold
◦	King and Colvin
◦	Stand Watie
◦	Carbine Williams
◦	George Read
◦	Newsletter Signup

Link Request

History Web Sites

Feedback

By purchasing history books or DVD's from the Interesting History web site, you are helping to cover the expenses and keep the website free for everyone. Thank you.