my @words = qw(I Am Cool);
  my @numbers = qw(1 2 3);
  my @loop_data = ();  # initialize an array to hold your loop
  while (@words and @numbers) {
    my %row_data;  # get a fresh hash for the row data
    # fill in this row
    $row_data{WORD} = shift @words;
    $row_data{NUMBER} = shift @numbers;
    # the crucial step - push a reference to this row into the loop!
    push(@loop_data, \%row_data);
  }
  # finally, assign the loop data to the loop param, again with a ref
  $template->param(THIS_LOOP => \@loop_data);