I learned the other day that something similar was happening in the US in the 80s with peoples' social security numbers. Someone was asking why a turntable from

I learned the other day that something similar was happening in the US in the 80s with peoples' social security numbers. Someone was asking why a turntable from the 80s had a big social security number etched into the back; apparently, the initiative was to use it as an identifier in case the item was stolen. Now of course it's rather ludicrous to use your SSN in that way but in principle it seems like a good idea to prove ownership.