The Artistic Beauty and Political Ugliness of Scanning—Caught on Video

Forty years ago this month a pack of Wrigley’s gum was scanned at a Marsh Supermarket in Troy, Ohio.  This moment made history. It was the first commercial use of a bar code scanner in a retail environment. That idea of collecting a broad spectrum of information in one pass of a wand, a gun or a ring—or past a stationary reader—astounded people even several years after those technologies hit the market. But as scanning technologies evolved, so did the imagination of their inventors and users. Scanning went from a means of data collection, to marketing, to artistic expression—and eventually wound up in politics and as a potential means of saving the world from terrorism.

This gallery traces the journey of automatic data collection through a few of those key moments—to where we are today, when the term “scanning” is as out of focus to many people as their grandfather’s old 8mm movie projector. Enjoy.

(ED. NOTE: TO WATCH THESE VIDEOS, CLICK THE LINK IN THE TEXT BOX TO THE RIGHT OF THE MAIN IMAGE. NAVIGATE TO THE NEXT VIDEO USING THE ARROWS.)

View MH&L's other video galleries:

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Stupidity in the Warehouse Caught on Video

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Crime by Forklift Caught on Video

The Consequences of Gravity--Caught on Video

"Struck-By" Forklift Accidents Caught on Video

Conveyor Danger—Caught on Video

Fuel Cell Forklifts--Pros & Cons on Video

Bulk Container Handling Hazards Caught on Video

Bad Forklift Training Caught on Video

Meet Your Material Handling's International Influences

Job Interviews from Hell on Video

Material Handling Failures Caught on Video

Politicians on Forklifts Caught on Camera

The Artistic Beauty and Political Ugliness of Scanning—Caught on Video