Salon | 21st: The 21st Challenge No. 6

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T A B L E__T A L K

Is your computer year 2000 compliant? Should it be? Join the millennium crises debate in the Digital Culture area of Table Talk

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R E C E N T L Y

Let's Get This Straight
By Scott Rosenberg
All Gates, all the time -- there's no escaping Bill
(03/05/98)

To be or not to be?
By Greg Lindsay
It's fast, it's fresh and it already has a cult following. But will the new high-end operating system find a market?
(03/04/98)

Babel off
By David Futrelle
AltaVista's Translation Assistant turns the language barrier into a fun house mirror
(03/03/98)

A glitch in time
By Scott Rosenberg
"Time Bomb 2000" author Edward Yourdon talks about just how bad the millennial computer crisis is going to be
(03/02/98)

"Myst" partnership is riven
By Karlin Lillington
Rand and Robyn Miller, the brothers who created the world's most popular computer games, go their separate ways
(03/02/98)

BROWSE THE
21ST CHALLENGE ARCHIVES

____________RESULTS OF Challenge No. 6:

Find and replace blunders

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J U D G E S '__C O M M E N T S :

THE 21st CHALLENGE In this Challenge, we asked you to submit examples of interesting -- and inappropriate -- sentences mangled by the find-and-replace tool. Many of your entries were prefaced by claims that the text had really been published -- often with a citation. One, submitted by Ken Shirrif, included the citation and then went on to cite proof that the example was generated by a prankster, not by software.

Many such entries purported to be the work of a careless writer or editor trying to keep pace with politically correct speech. A word to the wise: Don't rely on computers to solve the legacy of intolerance.

Sadly, our bylaws prevented us from awarding top honors to one of the best entries, submitted by Charlie's sister, Janet Varon. However, the prize goes to Raphael Laderman, whose example has an undeniable ring of truth. There but for caution go you and I.

W I N N E R

Also awarded a posthumous Grammy was John Denver, Colorado 80237-2843.
-- Raphael Laderman

H O N O R A B L E __M E N T I O N S:

National Organization for Women is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country.
-- Janet Varon

A stitch in time saves nein.
-- Jackson S. Broome

Atomic bombers criticize Enola homosexual exhibit.
-- Ken Shirriff

"Mississippi Masala": A touching romance in which a carpet cleaner (Denzel Washington) falls in love with a beautiful Native American woman.
-- Alex Pascover

Check back in two weeks for the next Salon 21st Challenge.
SALON | March 06, 1998

Charlie Varon is a humorist and playwright. His works include "Ralph Nader Is Missing" and "Rush Limbaugh in Night School." Jim Rosenau is executive editor at Books That Work, a home and garden software publisher in Palo Alto, Calif. Jim and Charlie are also co-founders of the citizen group Californians for Earthquake Prevention and partners in Mockingbird Productions, which offers a full line of comic services.