George J. Laurer developed the Uniform Product Code in 1973.[1] As an engineer at IBM he was asked to develop the pattern used for the Uniform Product Code.

666 controversy

The Universal Product Code has bit patterns at the beginning middle and end of the barcode called "guard bars". Laurer is often asked about the resemblance of these guard bars to the coding of the numeral 6. Some people see the three sets of guard bars as encoding the number 666 which some fundamentalist christians see as a sign of evil. See: 666 The Number of the Beast is mentioned in the Book of Revelation of the Christian New Testament and has long been accepted to be 666. ... The UPC (Universal Product Code) was the original barcode widely used in the United States and Canada for items in stores. ... The Number of the Beast is mentioned in the Book of Revelation of the Christian New Testament and has long been accepted to be 666. ... The Number of the Beast is mentioned in the Book of Revelation of the Christian New Testament and has long been accepted to be 666. ...

From his website[2]: Answer- Yes, they do RESEMBLE the code for a six. An even parity 6 is:

1 module wide black bar 1 module wide white space 1 module wide black bar 4 module wide white space

There is nothing sinister about this nor does it have anything to do with the Bible's "mark of the beast" (The New Testament, The Revelation, Chapter 13, paragraph 18). It is simply a coincidence like the fact that my first, middle, and last name all have 6 letters. There is no connection with an international money code either.

Published Journal Articles

David Savir, George J. Laurer: The Characteristics and Decodability of the Universal Product Code. IBM Systems Journal 14(1): 16-34 (1975)

External links

• George J. Laurer's personal web site.