"This last was designated for the disposal of waste paper. Similar openings were found in countless places throughout the building, not just in every room but at brief intervals in every hallway. For some reason, these were called memory holes. When someone knew a document was set for destruction, or encountered a scrap of waste paper, it became an automatic response to open the nearest memory hole flap and drop it in, after which it would be whisked away by a warm air current to the huge furnaces concealed somewhere in the depths of the building. (1.4.2)"