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Chads are paper particles created when holes are made in a computer punched tape or punch card.
Chads were made famous in the highly contentious 2000 presidential election in the United States, where a majority in the U.S. Electoral College was determined in Florida by the counting of punch card ballots. Voters leaving incompletely-punched holes resulted in so-called hanging chads where one or two corners were still attached, or dimpled chads (also known as pregnant chads) where three or four corners were still attached.
Chads are more commonly seen in mundane, everyday settings. When a hole punch (of the functional or decorative type) is used, it removes a small amount of paper - a chad. Chads are also common in stores, where holes are punched so that merchandise can be hung on pegs or clip strips.
Likewise, chads can also be the result of punching holes in any sort of thin material, such as fabric, plastic, or even sheet metal.
The term "chad" was originally used as a mass noun, similar to "sand": "chad" meant "a pile of paper debris", and the individual paper piece might be called "a piece of chad". Nowadays, however, the word seems to be used in the singular, thus "a chad", "hanging chads" and so on.
Etymology
The origin of the term chad is uncertain. (It has been seen in Teletype Corp. parts catalogs for tape punch units that were first invented in the 1920s. The metal tube that collects the chad is called the "chad chute"). The term chad predates the Chadless punch which makes a U-shaped hole rather than punching it out entirely. It is more likely from the Scottish name for river gravel, chad, or the British slang for louse, chat.
See also
- Bit bucket
- Teleprinter -- Teletype
- Paper tape
- Key punch -- Card punch
- Punched card
External links
- Snopes Urban Legend - Debunking the Chadless keypunch etymology
- Word Detective - on Chad
- BBC News - on Chads
- The Hanging Chads - A Tucson, AZ based rock & roll band
"Chad (paper)"