Barcode Yourself: What Are You Worth?

Have you ever wondered what you're worth? Barcode yourself to find out.

The series of lines on virtually everything you can buy today is called as a UPC (Universal Product Code), more commonly known as The Barcode. The original barcode was patented in 1952 and started out as a combination of concentric circles rather than the lines of varying thickness that we recognize today.

Marsh's supermarket in Troy, OH was the first to install a scanner in 1974, and Wrigley's Gum has the distinction of being the first product available with a UPC code.

The invention of the barcode is responsible for speeding up checkout lines and allowing for easier inventory management. No longer does a cashier have to search for the errant price tag to key in the amount manually (unless you happen to be behind me at WalMart when yet another barcode was entered into the computer system incorrectly or not entered at all). Now a clerk just has to swipe a barcode over a scanner 3 to 4, ok ten times, while holding their tongue just right and wait for that little beep to announce that it's found the correct (albeit overpriced) amount of the product in question.

Literally anything can be barcoded. You can even get one online free at barcodesinc.com, where they'll provide you an image for the barcode of whatever text you provide. I just generated a UPC for Marie Anne St. Jean and I gotta tell ya, she's one hot little number. Go ahead and give it a whirl and see how you measure up.

Beyond that, you can generate a barcode that will assign you a dollar amount when you enter pertinent information. Want to know how much you're worth? Go to barcodeart.com and barcode yourself. The system assigns you a price value based on age, gender, location, height and weight, much like an insurance company would calculate risk assessment or longevity, I suppose. Your number will appear in just a few seconds and clicking on 'scan' will bring up your worth in today's market.

Of course I had to give this a try too, and since losing a considerable amount of weight this year, not only do the lines of my UPC code look a lot sexier, I've also increased my worth from $6.35 to a whopping $6.61.

So much for inflation.

Sources:

about.com
howstuffworks.com
barcodeart.com
barcodesinc.com