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 Forum index » Archive » Archive: Urban Hunt » Urban Hunt: Puzzles
[PUZZLE] Tomorrow's Talk Barcode
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Schnell-Davis
Boot


Joined: 02 Aug 2004
Posts: 31
Location: Las Vegas, NV

 		Alternate theory
As previously stated, this is not an American UPC-A code.

However, it could be a European EAN-13 code. Check out these links to see what I mean:

UPC-A: http://www.makebarcode.com/specs/upc_a.html

EAN-13: http://www.makebarcode.com/specs/ean_13.html

The TT barcode looks very much like the EAN-13, with one exception that real EAN-13 codes have 13 digits, 12 under the barcode, as in the TT barcode has, and 1 more digit off to the side, which the TT barcode does not have.

Fortunately, the last digit of EAN-13 barcodes is a check digit, so it can be calculated. To calculate the check digit yourself, try this site:

http://new.ean.ch/english/02_Dienstleistungen/01-Barcoding/02-Pr%FCfziffer.html

Entering the TT barcode numbers of 594129400022 and calculating the check digit (0) results in an output of 5941294000220 (Actuallythe site generates 05941294000220, which is 14 digits, so I assume the leading zero is just some sort of padding).

I haven't been able to look up exactly what product that equates to, but I was able to find a country of origin and a manufacturer. The first three digits of an EAN-13 are a country code, and 594 is the code for Romania. Also, you can look up specific manufacturers based on EAN-13 codes at this site:

http://gepir.ean.ch/v3/default.aspx?Lang=en-US

To do the search yourself, select "GTIN (Who Makes?)" from the first drop down, then "EAN/UCC-13" from the second drop down, enter the 13 digit barcode in the box labeled "GTIN" and click "Submit."

Sure enough, entering the cpmplete 13 digit code, including the check digit calculated above, results in the following Romainian manufacturer:

Company Name / Address:
PRODUCTIE ARDEALUL SRL
STR.TARGULUI NR.6
RO 525200 COVASNA

Contact:
COSTEA OVIDIU/DIR.; VRANCEAN NICOL LAE/SEF PROD.
Phone: 0267 340144
Fax: 0267 341405
Mail: ardealulSPLATcosys.ro


Honestly, I don't know if there's anything to all this. But I thought it was at least as interesting as the FedEx theory. And in case anyone else was researching along the same lines, hopefully this will save them some time.

And if there's anyone in Europe reading, could you possibly look up the code and find out exactly what the product is?...

PostPosted: Wed Aug 04, 2004 5:59 am
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Nogwater
Veteran

Joined: 01 Aug 2004
Posts: 111

 		This could be useful for decoding the bars:
http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/upc4.htm

PostPosted: Thu Aug 05, 2004 3:08 pm
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LazarusLong42
Boot

Joined: 17 Aug 2004
Posts: 45

 		It's definitely not EAN-13--UPC is just a subset of EAN-13, so they would look similar. This barcode doesn't start out with any set of bars seen in UPC/EAN, i.e. the first digit is not six modules wide. (Neither, it seems, are the subsequent digits).

PostPosted: Mon Aug 23, 2004 10:49 pm
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Schnell-Davis
Boot


Joined: 02 Aug 2004
Posts: 31
Location: Las Vegas, NV

 		LazarusLong42,

Quote:
It's definitely not EAN-13


I agree.

When I stopped looking at the numbers and started looking at the bars themselves, my whole EAN-13 theory fell apart.

The difference in widths between the thinnest and thickest bars is so enormous that it doesn't come close to matching any type of bar code I could find. If the bars have any meaning at all (which I'm beginning to doubt) it's not as an actual bar code.

The number may still have some meaning, independent of the bars, but since they don't match, I agree it's not as a UPC or an EAN-13.

Of course, there's still the earlier theory that it's a FedEx tracking number...

PostPosted: Tue Aug 24, 2004 12:31 am
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BestFriendChris
Boot

Joined: 02 Aug 2004
Posts: 19
Location: Iowa City, Iowa

 		So, after looking at this barcode again, I noticed that the bars look a little too symetrical to be legit. Following up on this thought, I found that, except for two cases, they are exactly the same flipped horizontally. The only places this isn't accurate are:
  • The two bars at the beginning of the barcode are slightly longer than the two bars at the end. (They are exactly the same otherwise)
  • The bars above the "94" and "02" are definitely different. (The short version is the first set goes wide-short-wide while the second set goes wide-short-short-wide)
I made an image showing what I mean. The flipped image is red, while the regular, unflipped part is still gray...

Not sure what help this is (other than completely shooting down the UPC SPEC) Sad

PostPosted: Tue Aug 24, 2004 1:32 am
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aeakett
Greenhorn


Joined: 19 Aug 2004
Posts: 9

 		Bar's and Number's Don't Jive
I got thinking that maybe I should have a closer look at the bars. So I took a printout home at lunch and tried my CueCat on it. It didn't even try to decode it.

So when I got back to work, I fired up CorelDRAW and put the numbers through it's bar-code generator. I tried all of the bar code types that it had (codebar, code 25, code 39, code 128, EAN-13, and MSI/Plessey), but none of them resembled the Tomorrow's Talk bars.

Either the bars are cosmetic, or there's something encoded in there.

PostPosted: Tue Aug 24, 2004 2:00 pm
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Taladan
Boot

Joined: 15 Aug 2004
Posts: 31
Location: Valdosta, GA

 		Again, not playing urban hunt, but I saw this puzzle and wondered if anyone has tried seeing if the image of the barcode is stegged? Possibly with the numbers as the key? I don't have any destegging software or I'd try it.



Tal

PostPosted: Tue Aug 24, 2004 2:54 pm
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glop56
Boot

Joined: 24 Aug 2004
Posts: 20

 		Tomorrow' talk Barcode
I am new to this but have been following the game for a while.

Has anybody tried tracking the barcode number in the site that you buy Dead Poets?

I would but have not purchased the book yet. (It will have to wait till I get home tonight)

http://www.lulu.com/content/71107

PostPosted: Wed Aug 25, 2004 5:41 pm
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