Punched card

An 80-column punched card of the type most widely used in the 20th century. Card size was ​7 3⁄8 in × ​3 1⁄4 in (187.325 mm × 82.55 mm). This example displays the 1964 EBCDIC character set, which added more special characters to earlier encodings.

A punched card is a storage medium. It contains information in the form of holes, that are at precise locations on the card. In the 19th century, punched cards were widely used to control machines, such as looms and for census. Fairground organs and related instruments still use punched cards, as do some voting machines.

Herman Hollerith invented the recording of data on a medium that could then be read by a machine.

  • Punched cards used in a Jacquard loom
    Punched cards used in a Jacquard loom
  • As a key to a hotel room, 1983
    As a key to a hotel room, 1983
  • As a parking ticket,2000s
    As a parking ticket,2000s
  • A deck of punched cards, with different programs; the lines are there to find cards that are wrongly sorted
    A deck of punched cards, with different programs; the lines are there to find cards that are wrongly sorted