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A comment on Finding the 'invisible' millions who are not on maps. Parent comment

Re:Finding the 'invisible' millions who are not on maps by reaperducer on Friday July 03, 2020 @12:49PM (#23725496)
The younger people at work can't believe that I didn't have a Social Security number until I was 17. I only got one so I could get a passport.

I didn't even have a name until I was a year old. When I mentioned that to my astonished wife, I did some research, and found that it was common in that era, and even today in many communities, not to name a child for a year or two.

It used to be that you didn't have to be tabulated in anyone's database until your parents wanted to use you as a tax deduction. Mine never did.

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Re:Finding the 'invisible' millions who are not on maps by elgenie on Friday July 03, 2020 @02:29PM (#23726277)
Until a few hundred years ago, a quarter of children died before reaching a year of age. Traditions of not naming children until they reach a certain age milestone are likely outgrowths of societies processing that reality, as opposed to attempts to stay out of databases.
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