Tabulating machines are like special calculators that help people count things. Imagine you have a big box full of toys, and you want to know how many cars, dolls, and puzzles are in the box. Instead of counting each toy one by one, you can use a tabulating machine to help you count more quickly.
The tabulating machine has a special card that tells it what to count. Each card has little holes in it that represent numbers or letters. The machine also has a long arm called a tabulator that moves across the card and counts the holes it finds.
So, let's say you have ten cars, five dolls, and three puzzles in your big toy box. You can make a tabulating card with little holes punched in it to represent those numbers. Then, you put the card in the machine and move the tabulator arm across the card.
As the tabulator arm moves across the card, it finds the holes that represent the number of cars, dolls, and puzzles. It counts each hole it finds and keeps track of the total.
When the tabulator arm finishes counting all the holes, it shows the total number of cars, dolls, and puzzles on a special display screen. This helps you quickly see how many toys are in the box without having to count them all yourself.
Tabulating machines are very helpful for counting large amounts of data quickly and accurately. They were used for many years in businesses, governments, and other organizations to keep track of things like sales, inventory, and voting results.