There seems to be increasing need for the old "bit bucket*." Although considered obsolete by many, the fine old tradition of keeping one handy beside the computer may require revivial.

The New Hacker's Dictionary, 2d ed., Eric C Raymond, MIT Press,©1993, ISBN 0-262-68079-3, page 64:

bit bucket n. 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. 2. The place where all lost mail and news messages eventually go. The selection is perfromed according to Finagle's Law: important mail is much more likely to end up in the bit bucket than junk mail, which has an almost 100% probability of getting delivered. Routing to the bit bucket is automatically performed by mail-transfer agents, news systems, and the lower layers of the network. 3. The ideal location for all unwanted mail responses: "Flames to this article to the bit bucket." Such a request is guaranteed to overflow one's mailbox with flames. 4. Excuse for all mail that has not been sent. "I mailed you those figures last week; they must have landed in the bit bucket."
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A variant of this legend has had 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.

Many computer errors appear to be caused by overflow of a too-full bit bucket.

John