05-24-03 @ 1:25 am EDT

Okay, now please read this intro from the May 22, 2003 Weekly Choice article "You Say Mackinac, I Say Mackinaw..." by Scott Sevener--VERY CAREFULLY--and tell me if you think he's trying to be humorous, or if this is one of the stupidest typos in the history of print.

YOU SAY MACKINAC, I SAY MACKINAW...
by: Scott Sevener

...and yet the out-of-towners still manage to come up with "macanaw," "macinau," or even my favorite, "mac 'n' cheese!" Well, before I even get started here, I want to clear this up once and for all--the fort, island, bridge, and straits all spell it with a C--Mackinac, while the city and everything else uses a W--Mackinaw. I don't know why they've opted to go with the alternate spellings--perhaps to confuse the tourists, or maybe even to just be difficult--but that's just the way it is...

Now with that having been said, it's probably a given that this week we'll be visiting Mackinac City and what better time to spend some time in the colonial city than Memorial Day weekend?...

Am I the only one who sees it? What do you think--a dumb joke to see if we paid attention to the first paragraph, or a really, REALLY ironic typo?? o_O