Paper data storage

A defining feature of paper data storage is the ability of humans to produce it with only simple tools and interpret it visually.

In 1846, telegrams could be prerecorded on punched tape and rapidly transmitted using Alexander Bain's automatic telegraph.

Binary punched card In the late 1880s Herman Hollerith invented the recording of data on a medium that could then be read by a machine.

Prior uses of machine readable media, above, had been for control (automatons, piano rolls, looms, ...), not data.

"After some initial trials with paper tape, he settled on punched cards..."[1] Hollerith's method was used in the 1890 census.

Barcodes make it possible for any object that was to be sold or transported to have some computer readable information securely attached to it.