Flash Mob America, which stages events at corporate conferences and trade shows, began in 2009 after a group of friends put on a flash-mob tribute to Michael Jackson, which went viral.

WSJ: Spontaneity for Hire: Flash Mobs Go Corporate

This dynamic boosts the chance the flash-order trader will complete the trade on the exchange and get the rebate.

WSJ: Ban on Flash Orders Is Considered by SEC

The issue becomes just the latest in a long list of issues the SEC is examining regarding the current U.S. market structure, right up there with high frequency trading, dark pools, flash trading, market access, and trade tracking and reporting.

FORBES: SEC Takes Aim at Wild Market Swings

If Apple is buying between 400 million and 500 million 4 gigabit NAND flash memory chips from Samsung, as reported in the trade press, that probably represents 40% of Apple's total orders, Handy figures.

FORBES: A Cure For Memory Headaches: The iPhone

They happen often on the multi-million dollar scale, rather than the billion dollar scale of the flash crash, but they are the same class of event: The error trade.

FORBES: How To Regulate Robots With Fat Fingers

When the House of Representatives approved a free trade agreement between the U.S. and Peru last week, the event became a flash point between Democrats on the campaign trail.

FORBES: The Meaning Of Peru