How the Bar Code Took Over the World

In 1948 a supermarket executive showed up at the Drexel Institute of Technology, in Philadelphia, with a request: He wanted the engineers there to design a technology that could encode information about his products. Two graduate students, Bernard Silver and N. Joseph Woodland, took him up on it. Woodland became obsessed and dropped out of school to concentrate on the problem. That winter he was sitting...

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N. Korea displays Kim Jong Il a year after death

PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) — North Korea unveiled the embalmed body of Kim Jong Il, still in his trademark khaki jumpsuit, on the anniversary of his death Monday as mourning mixed with pride over a recent satellite launch that was a long-held goal of the late authoritarian leader.Kim lies in state a few floors below his father, national founder Kim Il Sung, in the Kumsusan mausoleum, the cavernous...

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What If Nothing or Nobody is to Blame for Adam Lanza? Guns, Video Games, Autism or Authorities

What if there is nobody or nothing to blame for Adam Lanza‘s heinous acts? Other than Lanza, of course.What if school security and the school psychiatrist kept an eye on Lanza since his freshman year? The Wall Street Journal has a compelling narrative about the red flags addressed.What if he had a form of autism that has little or no link to violent behavior? Lanza may have had Asperger’s syndrome...

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Jack Hanlon, actor in Our Gang films, dies in NV

RENO, Nev. (AP) — Jack Hanlon, who had roles in the 1926 silent classic “The General” and in two 1927 “Our Gang” comedies, died Thursday in Las Vegas at the age of 96.His niece, Wendy Putnam Park of Las Vegas, says the precocious, freckle-faced Hanlon was a natural as a child actor from 1926 to 1933.After a small role with Buster Keaton in “The General,” he played mischievous kids in two of Hal Roach’s...

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Warning over growing fuel poverty

16 December 2012 Last updated at 22:03 ETAround 300,000 extra households could be forced into fuel poverty within weeks, according to a lobby group.The Fuel Poverty Advisory Group has called on Prime Minister David Cameron to tackle what it describes as a “spiralling” problem.Energy prices have risen by 7% on average this year, taking the average annual direct debit bill to £1,247.A household is considered...

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Egyptians hand Islamists narrow win in constitution vote

CAIRO (Reuters) – Egyptians voted in favor of a constitution shaped by Islamists but opposed by other groups who fear it will divide the Arab world’s biggest nation, officials in rival camps said on Sunday after the first round of a two-stage referendum.Next week’s second round is likely to give another “yes” vote as it includes districts seen as more sympathetic towards Islamists, analysts say, meaning...

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Apple says China iPhone 5 sales in first weekend top two million

(Reuters) – Apple Inc sold more than 2 million of its new iPhone 5 in China during the three days after its launch there on Friday, marking China’s best-selling iPhone rollout ever, the company said late on Sunday.“Customer response to iPhone 5 in China has been incredible, setting a new record with the best first weekend sales ever in China,” Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook said in a statement.Apple’s...

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“Modern Family” star’s dad granted control of her estate

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The father of “Modern Family” star Ariel Winter was given temporary control over the teenage actress’ estate on Wednesday in a court-approved settlement in Los Angeles after allegations that her mother had abused her.Winter, 14, who plays the brainy and precocious teenager Alex Dunphy on the Emmy-winning ABC comedy, will remain under temporary guardianship of her older sister,...

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Clinton sustains concussion; Benghazi testimony postponed

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who canceled an overseas trip last weekend because of illness, suffered a concussion after fainting due to dehydration, prompting the postponement of her scheduled congressional testimony on the attack on a U.S. mission in Libya, officials said on Saturday.“While suffering from a stomach virus, Secretary Clinton became dehydrated and fainted,...

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Hungary government, central bank in “alliance” from 2013

BUDAPEST (Reuters) – A leadership change at Hungary‘s central bank next year will allow the government to build a strategic alliance with the bank to boost the economy, Economy Minister Gyorgy Matolcsy said on Saturday.Matolcsy, a member of Prime Minister Viktor Orban‘s government that has often clashed with the bank over policy, also said the bank would have to focus on helping growth and employment...

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