Comment by rsynnott

I can't find a reference now, but there's an old story about an early import of some software from the UK into Ireland (in the 50s or so). The software came on punched cards, and when it arrived turned out not to load. After much investigation it turned out that some cards were missing, so the vendor sent it again. This time different cards were missing. Eventually the problem was tracked down; at the time, it was normal for customs officials to retain a small sample of any bulk material imported for post-hoc inspection. The punched cards were viewed as a bulk material...