2024/01/03
bit bucket n.
(very common) 1. The universal data sink (originally, the mythical receptacle used to catch bits when they fall off the end of a register during a shift instruction). Discarded, lost, or destroyed data is said to have “gone to the bit bucket”. On Unix, often used for
/dev/null. Sometimes amplified as “the Great Bit Bucket in the Sky”.
- The place where all lost mail and news messages eventually go. […]
- The ideal location for all unwanted mail responses.
Another variant of this legend has it that, as a consequence of the “parity preservation law”, the number of 1 bits that go to the bit bucket must equal the number of 0 bits. Any imbalance results in bits filling up the bit bucket. A qualified computer technician can empty a full bit bucket as part of scheduled maintenance.
– https://www.gutenberg.org/files/3008/3008-h/3008-h.htm#bitbucket