We are familiar with the names of inventors who gave us our modern conveniences. Thomas Edison invented the lightbulb (not exactly) and Henry Ford invented the automobile (not really). Al Gore created the internet (that’s kinda true). But many great inventions don’t get the acknowledgment they deserve – both for the inventor and the item itself.
In Meaner Monkeys, the second book of the Zoomarble series, I give a little background to the invention of barcodes by Norman Joeseph Woodland. I feel that his contribution to society deserves more recognition. That got me thinking: What other facets of our daily lives are improved by the contributions of people that we don’t even realize? I will begin tackling these unsung heroes in the order they cross my mind and write what I find from minimal research. Today’s entry covers bar codes, no-spill laundry caps, and ATMs that make you take your card out before they dispense cash.
Bar Codes
This one, as I mentioned, I researched a little for Meaner Monkeys. Thank you, Wikipedia, for all your help. One day I will contribute some money but I have to be more solvent first.
Norman Joseph Woodland (1921-2012) was a grad student at Drexel Institute of Technology in 1948 when Bernard Silver, a fellow grad student relayed to him a conversation he had overheard. A supermarket executive had approached the dean of engineering about developing a method of capturing product data at the point of purchase. The dean turned him down. But Woodland and Silver began working on the idea. It was Woodland while living at his grandfather’s Florida apartment who thought about the concepts of Morse code sending information electronically. He drew dots and dashes in the sand and then stretched them downward with his fingers, creating thick and thin lines: a two-dimensional linear Morse code.
More stuff happened and IBM and RCA were involved. I don’t have time to read Wikipedia to you; I’m a very busy man. Let’s just agree that bar codes are freakin’ everywhere. I will relate some anecdotal evidence.
Here is how Amazon works: Products have barcodes and they are scanned and associated with a bin or a box that has a barcode. If you read the barcode on the bin or box the computer can tell you every product in that container. (Amazon is big on the container concept so data structure geeks pay attention.) The bins come down a long conveyor track to robots that scan the barcode, determine the destination, and stack the bin on a pallet until it is full. The pallet is wrapped in plastic and then given its own barcode. Now the pallet is a container that contains the containers that contain products. The pallets are moved to a semi-truck that has – you guessed it – a barcode. The semi is a container. If you read the barcode on a semi you can drill down to every pallet, bin, and product on that truck.
If employees had to key in the 12-digit UPC for every item there is no way Amazon could deliver your fungal cream, scuba suit, vibrators, and granola snacks overnight. (What the hell are you doing this weekend?)
No-spill Laundry Detergent Caps
If you are old enough to remember how detergent caps used to be, then you know what a revolution it was to have excess detergent run back into the bottle instead of down the side of the bottle. I think this is worthy of recognition. Unfortunately, after five full minutes of Googling, I can’t find anything about it. I did discover that you can clean the cap by dropping it right in with your laundry. I found out I’m a moron if I use liquid detergent instead of Tide pods (introduced in 2012). And I found out I’m negligent if I use detergent pods because children are brainless and think they’re candy. This hero will have to remain unsung.
Take-your-card ATM
This one is dear to my heart because I’m the dumbass who grabs my cash from the ATM and drives away before getting my card back. I noticed our bank began changing the sequence a few years ago. Okay, it might be 10 or 15 years – I really don’t know. “Take your card before we dispense the cash, dumbass” is what my ATM says now. Despite the underlying lack of faith, the bluntness is appreciated.
After five minutes of Googling, I did not find an inventor for this modern marvel either. What I did find is people complaining about the sequence because then they take their cards and drive away without their cash. I guess you can’t please everyone.
Okay, for the next installment of Unsung Heroes, I will try to pick some topics that have a more definitive history. If you have ideas for inventions that you would like me to half-ass research and discuss, please feel free to send them to adam.swetnam@zoomarble.space.