When I started trading commodities in 1979 from the Chicago trading floors we had data key punch girls who would walk around the different hexagon pits and collect 4 x 6 inch cards. They would then run upstairs to the data entry office and spend hours deciphering the traders scribbling on the cards. In the morning there would be a pre-opening session called "out-trades" where clerks would attempt to settle trades which did not match because of key punch errors or the inability to read the chicken scratch writing.