Ministry of
Whereabouts Case register

Public records · Volume 01

The Ministry
Dossier

Case files on the unseen systems that move bags, boxes and people.

01 / The files

Case register

05 of 05 files

MOW-001
Declassified

Retail / Barcode scanning

He Helped Patent the Barcode but Never Saw It in a Shop

The patent came first. The checkout had to wait for .

Trace the gap between the original patent and the checkout scanner, and see how printed marks became a way to identify an item.

MOW-002
Declassified

Shipping / Container handling

The Corners That Let a Crane Grab Your Container

The crane makes contact at .

Look at the fittings built into a shipping container’s corners and the matching locks a crane uses to lift it.

MOW-003
Declassified

Aviation / Aircraft freight

Your Plane Has a Second Job

Below the passenger deck, shares the flight.

Follow the other payload on a passenger flight and see how freight fits into the space beneath the passenger deck.

MOW-004
Declassified

Baggage / Sortation

Where Your Suitcase Goes After Check-In

Past the desk, a decides the route.

Follow a checked bag through screening, the sortation loop and the handoff from the conveyor to the aircraft.

Watch
MOW-005
Declassified

Aviation / Instrument landings

How Planes Land in Fog

When the runway disappears, guide the approach.

See how instrument guidance gives a crew a path to the runway when fog limits what they can see out of the cockpit.

Declassified

Investigator’s note