  We use recent results in binary stellar evolution to argue that binaries with
at least one black hole dominate the rate of compact-object mergers. Two
phenomena generally attributable to such mergers, gamma-ray bursts and
gravity-wave bursts, are therefore likely to originate from near the event
horizon of a black hole. In addition to sheer numbers, black holes have an
added advantage over neutron stars in both phenomena. For gamma-ray bursts, the
presence of an event horizon eases the baryon pollution problem, because energy
can be stored into rotation until most baryons have been swallowed, and then
released into a cleaner environment via the Blandford-Znajek process. For
gravity-wave bursts, black holes offer higher luminosities due to their higher
masses, thus enabling detection out to larger distances, which leads to a
30-fold increase in the predicted LIGO event rate.
