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The Invention of the Barcode: A Quick and Easy Way to Scan
How the barcode went from a 1948 student idea and a bullseye pattern to the standard product code and the first supermarket scan in 1974.
Home and Everyday Life
Everyday Inventions
Barcodes, cards and games from daily life.
The Development of the Barcode Scanner: From Laboratory Experiment to Commercial Use
How the machines that read barcodes evolved, from early photocell trials and bullseye readers to laser scanners at supermarket tills and handheld devices.
The Development of the Biometric Scanner: From Laboratory Experiment to Commercial Use
How identification moved from inked fingerprint cards and police files to electronic readers, and how biometric scanners reached offices, borders and phones.
The Forgotten History of the First ATM
Which cash machine came first? The late-1960s machines in Britain, Sweden and the United States, earlier experiments, and why credit is shared among several people.
The Forgotten Story of the First Fire Extinguisher
From Ambrose Godfrey's gunpowder-charged barrel in 1723 to Captain Manby's pressurized cylinder and the chemical extinguishers that followed, a history of the fire extinguisher.
The Forgotten Story of the First Traffic Cone
The traffic cone is often credited to Los Angeles street painter Charles Scanlon in the 1940s. Here is what is known, what is disputed, and how the cone changed.
The Forgotten Story of the First Traffic Light
From the gas-lit semaphore outside Parliament in 1868 to electric signals in the 1910s and the three-color light, who built what and why the credit is contested.
The Invention of the ATM: A Convenient Banking Solution
How cash machines grew from 1960s voucher dispensers into card-and-PIN networks, and how banks connected them, shared them and spread them across the world.
The Invention of the Basketball: A Hoop of History
How James Naismith created basketball in Springfield in December 1891, from the original rules and a soccer ball to nets, backboards and the modern game.
The Invention of the First Credit Card: A Financial Revolution
From store charge plates and the Diners Club card to bank cards in 1958, a history of the credit card and why there is no single answer to which one was first.
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Home Appliances Microwave ovens and the electric kitchen. Cooling Appliances Refrigerators and air conditioners. Sewing and Laundry Sewing machines and washing machines in the home. Fun and Fitness Rides, boards and exercise machines. Food Preservation and Cooking How people kept food from spoiling and how cooking tools evolved.