the.com/barcode

means A pattern of parallel lines of varying widths that encodes data — usually a product number — for a machine to scan and read.

from Coined from 'bar' (the stripes themselves) plus 'code' (the hidden information). The idea dates to the mid-20th century, when inventors experimented with ways to let machines read product data automatically; early versions used concentric circles before the familiar vertical-stripe format, developed and refined through the 1960s-70s, became the retail standard. The first commercial scan of one — on a pack of chewing gum — is often cited as the format's real-world debut.