I once worked for a newspaper while they were researching if dead people were voting in the state of Kentucky. The project would compare voter records with thos

I once worked for a newspaper while they were researching if dead people were voting in the state of Kentucky. The project would compare voter records with those of the deceased. The State responded to one of their open record requests with a a magnetic real about a foot in diameter, which I was tasked with decoding into a spreadsheet. I took the magnetic reel to college with me that summer and asked around. Turns out they had magnetic tape reader for reels of this size hooked up their VAX system. A friendly sysadmin tried to read the data for me, but it came back has gibberish. I wasn't surprised. Then he said "Aha! EBCDIC!" I hadn't heard it, but as the reel spoon and the names of the dead spun off the reel, he spun his own yard about this arcane format that was an ancient as the magnetic tape reel I'd brought it. And yes, there were some dead people voting in Kentucky.