title: Unknown encoding (\x001, not ASCII) to float in Python
body: <p>I have this string in Python <code>'\x005\x003\x00.\x000\x005\x006\x00'</code> that represents the number <code>53.056</code>.</p>
  
  <p>I am trying to convert that to a float (<code>float()</code>) but if I try to cast it to a float I get <code>ValueError: could not convert string to float:</code>.</p>
  
  <p>I read that every character beginning with <code>\x</code> is an ASCII character but I also know that in ASCII 5 is <code>\x05</code> and not <code>\x005</code> and that <code>\x00</code> is the number 0 and not a null value like in this case.</p>
  
  <p>I also tried to encode that in UTF-8 but with no result.</p>
  
  <p>What encoding is that and and how do I convert that string to a float?</p>