Chad (paper)

Clear definitions for both terms are offered by Walter Bacon in a patent application filed in 1940 assigned to Bell Telephone Laboratories: "...

"[4] In the New Hacker's Dictionary, two unattributed and likely humorous[citation needed] derivations for "chad" are offered, a back-formation from a personal name "Chadless" and an acronym for "Card Hole Aggregate Debris".

[5] Other etymologies claim derivation from the Scottish name for river gravel, chad, or the British slang for louse, chat.

[citation needed] When a chad is not fully detached, it is described by various terms corresponding to the level of modification from the unpunched state.

[7][8] The aftermath of the controversy (Bush v. Gore) caused the rapid discontinuance of punch card ballots in the United States.

Chads from punched cards . Each chad is about 3 mm ( 1 ⁄ 8 in) long.
Votomatic [ 1 ] voting machines of the type used in the 2000 election in Florida
The chip (chad) receiver from a UNIVAC key punch
Pouring chads from a jar at the Computer History Museum
Asymmetrical chad produced by a railroad ticket punch