The art of shopping has come a long way from the days when the clerk would take your credit card and compare it against a small book that was filled with nothing but credit card numbers gone bad.

Pass that test, and the plastic was put onto a small platform, a 3" x 7" three-part form was placed on top, then the attendent with the bulging forearms would ram a roller assembly back and forth, embossing your card numbers onto the form.

National Bankcard did away with all the physical labor by means of their nifty card swipers (as they're called in the trade). Just hope that your card's magnetic stripe didn't get wiped clean during that last lightning storm.