Early versions of Fortran also had a fixed column layout, although the columns were different. The only commonality thst I can find right now is ignoring columns 73 to 80 to make space for card sequence numbers.
I never wrote a program on punch cards, but I'd definitely drop card stacks accidentally or get them into a jumble somehow. Having numbered cards and a card sorting machine (radix sort in hardware!) would be extremely helpful then.
Old-timer tip: take a marker and draw a diagonal line across the top of your card deck, from the column 1 left side edge of the first card to the column 80 right side edge of the last card. When you drop the deck, just reassemble the line.
Which sorting algorithm do you use when reassembling? Does it work well with "eyeball it and stick it near correct-ish spot and then fiddle with it later"?
Depends how much bleed your paper has with your marker, but in general it’s quite accurate to eyeball it. I’ve never used it on punch cards, but I have for large documents.