# How to make an old column more 'current'?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-make-an-old-column-more-current/177996>\
**Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\
**Created:** [May 28, 2003, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-make-an-old-column-more-current/177996 "2003-05-28T12:44:06Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\
**Post date:** [May 28, 2003, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-make-an-old-column-more-current/177996/1 "2003-05-28T12:44:06Z")

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Now I know [How a bullet or a knife kills somebody](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_203b.html), what I don’t know is how Cecil manages to sneak in a phrase like “Tom Clancy technobable” into a column that supposedly predates Tom Clancy’s first book by several years!

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**Author:** ![Jayrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Jayrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayrot)\
**Post date:** [May 28, 2003, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-make-an-old-column-more-current/177996/2 "2003-05-28T17:15:57Z")

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Yeah I noticed this too! The column is dated 1979, but Tom Clancy’s first book wasn’t published until 1984.

Anyone care to explain? I know, I know. He probably went back and edited it to make it “more current” as **naita** suggests. However, it seems a bit disingenuous to put incorrect dates on a column or fail to indicate that it has been edited.

Cecil?

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**Author:** ![NormanConquest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@NormanConquest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NormanConquest)\
**Post date:** [May 28, 2003, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-make-an-old-column-more-current/177996/3 "2003-05-28T18:50:02Z")

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From the archive search page:

“We are currently in the process of updating the older columns and consolidating them with our archive of classic columns, described below”

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**Author:** ![Kat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b19c9b/32.png) [@Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kat)\
**Post date:** [May 31, 2003, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-make-an-old-column-more-current/177996/4 "2003-05-31T19:41:56Z")

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It’s time travel, of course.

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**Author:** ![bikertrash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85e7bf/32.png) [@bikertrash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bikertrash)\
**Post date:** [May 31, 2003, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-make-an-old-column-more-current/177996/5 "2003-05-31T23:52:47Z")

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jimmy was a moon shiner cracked corn is what you make whisky with so jimmy cracked corn is what the massa was drinking when he fell or was thrown from his horse

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**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\
**Post date:** [June 2, 2003, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-make-an-old-column-more-current/177996/6 "2003-06-02T11:51:32Z")

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What? You doubt that Cecil knows All?? … scoffers.