Bill D -

Your explanation doesn't stand up to scrutiny.

Every good (digital) system since the first days of ENIAC includes a "bit bucket" where the lost bits are caught. This prevents the floor being messed up with lots of the loose extra bits.

When the guy gets done scratching his .... or when his replacement arrives, the bit bucket would obviously be dumped back into the wire, with only a slight delay.

Maybe third world countries can't afford those tiny funnels though ...

John