http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_372.html
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_372b.html
Both are effectively the same question, one is a little more verbose. But, the question I have to ask, is why? Why are there two versions on the server?
(And again, the message is only tangentially related to commenting on Cecil’s columns… oops… :))
Interestingly, they also both have the same “last modified” date of January 25, so it’s not that one is an update. I would venture a guess that some newspapers printed an alternate, toned-down version, but neither version of that column seems to need toning down. I’m stumped.
My WAG is Cecil completly wrote one of those columns and the other is a Zotti edited version.
I think the b.html-column is the original.
I dunno, the a column contains the phrase ‘irrelevant drivel’… and Zotti has been known to excise Uncle Cecil’s more hurtful phrases.
Plus, the b column has last minute bonus info. I’m guessing Ed added the stuff about Tokyo and took a second to edit for tone.
–John