If you have a smartphone, you probably use QR codes. You can add a friend to your LINE address book by scanning their QR code. Many stores ask you to scan a QR code to pay with electronic money, and restaurants have started using QR codes instead of menus. The QR code was invented by Hara Masahiro at Denso Wave in 1994. There were barcodes at the time, but they were mostly used in supermarkets. Besides, they were not always easy to scan. Hara wanted to make a better code that was easy to scan and could hold a lot more information. One day, while playing Go, a board game with black and white stones, Hara had an idea. If he used small squares, he could make made a “quick response” (QR) code. He did it, and his invention has changed our lives.       (143 words)

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