Thursday, December 8, 2011

Barcodes to the Rescue

On this week's episode of the TV show Castle, Castle and Beckett used a mailpiece barcode to help solve a murder.

The show featured a piece of an envelope found at the crime scene with a typical sorting barcode along the bottom of the letter. They depicted that by calling the Post Office they were told exactly where the letter had been delivered and they used that information to track criminal activity.

When they turn up missing Detective Ryan also notices the same scrap of paper on their desk and uses it to find Castle and Beckett just in time to save them. Nice story. But it is just a story.

First, the barcode they show is not all there - it has part of it ripped off. It would not be able to be read entirely. Second, you can't call the Postal Service, give them a barcode and have them tell you where it was delivered.

Barcodes are a boon to sorting the mail, but they aren't capable of solving crimes.

2 comments:

Exhume said...
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Anonymous said...
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