Just a bit of history ...

The noise made when stepping the "volume" too fast is called
"zipper noise" dating from VoltageControlledAmp days.

Why 16bit in Win3.x ?
16bit/44.1k was the resolution/sample-rate used by the Sony F1/501
codecs that recorded on U-matic tape and were then transferred to CD.
Later, the infamous Sony 3324 multitrack perpetuated this evil <g>

Thanks for a great series of interviews,
pjc