Oct 4, 2013

Farrington B Font

The squared-off numbers on almost every credit card were invented in a bar at the Waldorf-Astoria. David H. Shepard, who invented the first optical character recognition device (in his attic), first voice recognition system, also created the Farrington B numeric font to try to combat the smudging and smearing that would inevitably occur at gas pumps, one of the first places optical character recognition would be used.

These days, credit card companies could use any font for the account number, because the information is gathered from the magnetic strip on the back. Farrington B is still commonly used as tradition. Shepard passed away in 2007.

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