Fun fact: the original pre-computer punch cards used for the census etc. were quite like Bloom filters with degenerate hash functions. Some of the same principl

Fun fact: the original pre-computer punch cards used for the census etc. were quite like Bloom filters with degenerate hash functions. Some of the same principles of key number/width, density, and pollution even apply. I've often thought that would be a good place to start, if I ever had to explain Bloom filters to a layman or beginner.