How does a barcode tell a store the price?
The Barcode's Secret
How does a barcode tell a store the price?
You've seen them a million times — those zebra stripes on every box of cereal, every can of soup, every pack of gum. The cashier waves it over a red light, beep, and somehow the store knows exactly what you're buying and how much it costs. How does that rectangle of lines know what's inside the box?
Here's the secret: the barcode doesn't actually know the price. It doesn't know anything at all! Those black lines are just a number — a name tag for the product. The barcode on your cereal box says "I am Honey Nut Crunch, size 12 ounces." That's it. No price, no ingredients list, no nutritional facts. Just an ID number, written in a language that machines can read.
