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This question follows up on What is the exact purpose of \ftype@<TYPE>?. The LaTeX kernel source refers to a BANG float in the ltoutput.dtx, but there is no explanation for it. Anybody knows what it is?

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yannisl
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    Fun Fact: If you google "bang float latex", the first hit is about balloons, the second the TeX UK-FAQ about floats (not mentioning BANG) and the third is already this question (9min old right now). – Martin Scharrer Oct 23 '11 at 17:22
  • Yiannis, @lockstep: I think the [tex-core] tag doesn't belong here. Would be a candidate again for the to-be-discussed [latex-core] tag. – Martin Scharrer Oct 23 '11 at 17:26
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    bang float are floats with an "!" float option. I guess the name came from the same source as "shebang" and "hash-bang" for "#!". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shebang_(Unix) – Ulrike Fischer Oct 23 '11 at 17:28
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    @UlrikeFischer I believe using 'bang' for '!' is originally a printers term – Joseph Wright Oct 23 '11 at 17:45
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    @lockstep suggest latex-kernel tag for this sort of thing, will be easier to Google and more kid-proof:) – yannisl Oct 23 '11 at 18:16
  • @JosephWright According to Webster's you got the prize, although based on Ulrike's comment the influence might have come from "shebang", wish is the latter; this word originates from Irish and is used in South Africa as "shebeen". As we all hate unanswered questions, will you please put your comment as an answer? – yannisl Oct 23 '11 at 18:28
  • @YiannisLazarides I think Ulrike's comment is the correct answer from a TeX point-of-view. – Joseph Wright Oct 23 '11 at 18:35
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    @UlrikeFischer Will you please write your comment and a few words as an answer, so that I can accept it? I think Joseph's comment is also possibly a reasonable explanation but he is an officer and a gentleman!:) – yannisl Oct 23 '11 at 18:39
  • In algebraic topology, it's often pronounced "shriek" since that's what you do when you see it (it often denotes a map going in the opposite way to what you expect). – Andrew Stacey Oct 24 '11 at 07:58
  • @AndrewStacey: I don't think that's why most people shriek when they see one of those. – Ryan Reich Oct 29 '11 at 21:49

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bang float are floats with an "!" float option. I guess the name came from the same source as the bang in "shebang" and "hash-bang" for "#!". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shebang_(Unix).

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exclamation_mark:

In the 1950's, secretarial dictation and typesetting manuals referred to the mark as "bang," most likely adapted from comic books where the ! appeared in dialogue balloons to represent a gun being fired, although the nickname probably emerged from letterpress printing. This bang usage is behind the titles of the interrobang, an uncommon typographic character, and a shebang line, a feature of unix computer systems.

Jake
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Ulrike Fischer
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