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Tech

The ideas and machines shaping tomorrow, explained without the jargon.

Technology shapes how the whole world works, talks and pays, often through inventions most people never notice. Our Tech stories explain the systems behind everyday life, from the undersea cables that carry the internet to the QR codes that now settle payments at street stalls and cafés. We focus on how things actually work, who built them and why they spread, with clear explanations, real numbers and sources you can check. Expect history as well as the latest developments, told for curious readers rather than specialists, with the same global lens we bring to every subject on Everyday Globe.

Printed sign on a wooden café counter with two QR codes, one for WeChat Pay and one for Alipay, and instructions in Chinese and English
Tech· 7 min read

Who Invented the QR Code and Why?

Designed in 1994 to track components on Toyota-group factory floors, the QR code now pays for chai in Bengaluru and coffee in Shanghai. Its success came down to clever geometry, built-in error correction and one unusual decision about a patent.