This photo is a perfect example of how optical illusions can play tricks on our minds. At first glance, you see a little girl with extremely skinny legs. However, upon closer inspection, you realize that the illusion is caused by the angle and pattern of the dress she is wearing. Optical illusions like these remind us that our perception of reality is not always accurate. Her legs are normal, and she is holding a bag of what looks like popcorn.
FOSDIC (Film Optical Sensing Device for Input to Computers) Although the Census Bureau entered the computer age with the introduction of UNIVAC I in 1951, its data processing speed was hampered by the continued reliance upon punch cards. Transferring questionnaire data to punch cards that UNIVAC "read" and stored on magnetic tape was a time consuming process. To take advantage of UNIVAC's speed, National Bureau of Standards scientists and Census Bureau engineers began development of FOSDIC. Completed in 1954, the first generation of FOSDIC, using vacuum tubes, analog processing, and a flying-spot scanner "read" the position on microfilms of pencil-filled circles on questionnaires and translated the responses to computer code stored on magnetic computer tape. The Census Bureau first used FOSDIC to process a decennial census in 1960. Enumerators transferred data collected on questionnaires to a "FOSDIC-readable schedule" on which questionnaire responses were recorded as penciled-in circles, technicians used extremely sensitive photography equipment to convert these forms into microfilm. These shaded circles appeared as light dots on the microfilm. When the microfilm passed through the Census Bureau's FOSDIC machines, they read the placement of the bright marks on the microfilm and translated them into computer code.
