The Century 21 Exposition (also known as the Seattle World's Fair) ran from April 21 to October 21, 1962. Nearly 10 million people attended the fair. The exposition's displays and attractions were centered around themes of science and technology, but included showcases for a variety of world cultures.

The International Business Machines (IBM) Corporation Pavilion was part of the “World of Commerce and Industry” themed area of the Seattle World’s Fair. The IBM exhibit, called “New Paths to Knowledge,” showed in layman's terms how computers are used to help solve problems in business, industry, government, and science. In one of three “gardens of learning," a children’s maze compared human and computer decision-making. In the maze, made up of panels showing numbers, children found their way out by making logical yes-no decisions at each turn, analogous to the binary decisions made by computers.

This souvenir postcard from the IBM Pavilion describes the use of numbers in daily life, and as the "natural language of the computers."

Caption information source: "Official guide book, Seattle World's Fair, 1962, retrieved at https://www.worldsfairphotos.com/century21/booklets/official-guide-book.pdf