Abstract: A sheet of writing material bears a plurality of position indicating markings. The markings on the sheet constitute parts of a plurality of characters which are printed on the sheet, directly abutting each other. The characters make up a font in which each character is defined within a substantially rectangular area having a predetermined width and height. The predetermined area is divided into four virtual grids with each grid containing a marking, and each marking being located in one of four positions within its associated virtual grid. The four positions are displaced from the center of the virtual grid in four directions.

Abstract: A system and a method for indexing pedestrian traffic are disclosed. Traffic information is gathered from counter units (30, 31) placed at entrances in provider malls, retail stores, or other locations where pedestrians may be counted. The counters give daily reports to the traffic indexing system (40) of the amount of pedestrian traffic flowing through traffic monitoring points (30, 31). Traffic data are collected daily from providers and compiled into an index (40). These data may be integrated and indexed with other data such as sales data, labor data and promotion data. Providers (30, 31) and other users (45) may access the traffic index (40) along with other industry information to gauge their performance as compared to the performance of others in the industry or to make educated decisions on development and marketing issues.