A great
rant by Lee Felsenstein on David Farber's IP List about the original use of the term Flip-Flop on the beginning of the computer age and how we owe most of what he have today to this great invention.
A few quotes:
Invented by Eccles and Jordan in 1919, the "bi-stable latch circuit" came to be called the "flip-flop" at the very beginning of the computer age, in the 1940's, when beach sandals were just beach sandals. The flip-flop circuit has an output that maintains its setting indefinitely - until instructed to change it. Pulse it, and it "flips" - pulse it again and it "flops".
...
But we have moved beyond that, thanks to the flip-flop - the Eccles-Jordan invention which, with its multitudes of offspring, bestows upon us a panoply of machines that remember, that adapt, that empower our thoughts and ideas with global reach via the Internet.
Those who fear subtlety, nuance, dissent and individualism can continue to chant and wave beach sandals. We ask those who value the power of the common flip-flop to reclaim its name from those who would, in a sense, do away with its benefits.