While doing a search, I happened upon an old (1977 apparently) column about Blue Moons. I have seen some of the discussion about some of the old columns that have been editted slightly since their original appearance, but this particular column is dated 1977 but has a reference to something that happened in 1999.
It’s 1984, right?
Okay, boys and girls. Get out your copies of the original Straight Dope book and turn to page 172. The book version of Cecil’s column is more or less the same as paragraphs 2 & 3 of the online version, where he discusses instances of the moon appearing to be colored blue. But the rest of the online column, where he talks about the second full moon in a month, isn’t in the book.
The online version has a reply from one Chas. Jones that includes a link to a May, 1999, Sky & Telescope article. Cecil’s reply to Chas. includes the line
It is most puzzling that the book version of the column makes no mention of a blue moon being the second full moon in a month. I’m guessing an updated column, complete with second-moon theory, ran in 1999 as a Straight Dope Classic, and Chas. Jones was replying to that.
Not puzzling at all. The original column was written in 1977. Deborah Byrd’s popularization of this idea didn’t happen until 1980. So at the time the column was written, no one had the idea that blue moon = second full moon in a month.
The only question is when was the column updated.
I’ll see if we can get an answer from the editor (Ed Zotti) but his great mind might be too full of other things to be able to discuss this puzzling question.