The usage of 1875-05-20 for corrupt or missing dates in social security data is based on optimized data storage practices from the 1930s to 1950s, rather than an issue with COBOL. During this period, efficient data structure was essential, often leading to simplified systems like using a cut-off year to save storage space.

5m read timeFrom retrocomputing.stackexchange.com
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TL;DR: It's all about what data is to be recordedSo was it COBOL?The QuestionsSo what is it?

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