The Power Loom Did What?????

I finally finished watching “America: The Story of Us”, the miniseries which I caught on Netflix.  I highly recommend it.  On episode 4 they were talking about the industrialization of America and the invention of the power loom which was a loom that took raw cotton and made it into yardage.  This was the start of the factory as we know it and employed mainly single women ages 15- 25 having them earn money for the first time.  The clothing industry started here since fabric was more attainable and the increase in demand for it created a growth in employment.  Long were the days where most families made their own clothes and now ready to wear was introduced along with more jobs.  The most fascinating part of the miniseries was when they told the story of how they figured out to make patterns on the cloth through a series of punch cards.  (http://www.computersciencelab.com/ComputerHistory/HistoryPt2.htm)  Each hole in the loom would tell it to use a different colored thread creating a binary code.  Binary code!  The same code which aided in the basis of our modern day computers and has facilitated our navigation through life.  Now tell me that’s not amazing.  It would also introduce us to our friend the hanging chad.