The concept of "bit", a contraction of "Binary Unit", was invented by Claude Shannon in the late 1940's, as part of his theory of information, itself part of the scientific and philosophic movement now known as cybernetics, lead by Alan Turing, Norbert Wiener, Claude Shanon and John von Neuman. A bit meant the choice between yes and no, and was defined as the basic unit for the representation of information.

At one point ar another, probably among the works of John von Neuman, a real electronic machine was built to handle real electronic bits. When this machine was first started, The First Bit was born.

Now there is a great number of bits in the world, number which is bound to grow forever, or at least as long as electronic machines will be around.

In a way, all the bits that exist and will exist are descendants of the First Bit, all created by copying, inverting and duplicating previous bits, up until the First Bit.

Remember the First Bit.

Long live The Bit !