Visualize "asshat" for a moment.  I go into a clothing store and say, "Hi, I'm going to a wedding and I need an asshat." The reply, "You mean an ascot?" My answer, "No, an asshat." Or maybe awaiting medical testing. "Nurse, we're going to be awhile so he is going to need an asshat." 
Now, if someone points to BCPL as an asshat, then there is only one asshat.  If I need 2 asshats, then it may not fit the same.  I'll bet Carly Fiorina thinks Donald Trump is an asshat, but he probably doesn't look much like BCPL so at least we know there are a variety of shapes and sizes and some fit better than others. 
I can see some uses for an asshat.  For example, on a cold day jeans may not be enough, so I would want my asshat handy.  I'll bet Pharell Williams has an asshat, so lots of people will want one like his. The captain of the Nautilus probably had an asshat.  It's probably in the Smithsonian somewhere.  
And like many things it can spill over to other areas.  Like plumbing parts.  I can turn the direction of a pipe with an 'elbow.' But if I don't want to permanently cap a pipe, perhaps I could use an asshat.  Or astrophysics.  I think you can see where I'm going there.  
Technology plays a part, too.  BCPL is a good example.  Since there is only one to have a good fit as an asshat it would need to be malleable because asses need to move.  So we can use computer assisted 3-D imaging to see how well the asshat will fit and move and then a 3-D printer to make it.  So that's the way around having only one and you wouldn't want it to fail.
Then there are asshats in lore.  I've never heard Wyatt Earp wore an asshat, but some might say the bolar on Bat Masterson's head looked like a small one because it was perfectly round.  For obvious reasons that discussion didn't get a lot of traction.
And then there is sports.  Thursday night the Chiefs lost because they were wearing too many asshats, so you can see how one can interfere with your game.