something that happened

here we have a list of original titles of famous books. some of them are absolutely mindboggling. would alice in wonderland have done as well at the boxoffice this last weekend if it was still called alice’s adventures underground? is there something appealing about catch-22 that catch-18 lacks? would anyone have ever purchased gone with the wind if it were instead published under the gooferific title, ba ba black sheep?

• incident at west egg · the great gatsby
• stephen hero · portrait of the artist as a young man
  
• the sea cook · treasure island
  
• first impressions · pride and prejudice
• all’s well that ends well* · war and peace
• alice’s adventures underground · alice in wonderland
  
• the last man in europe · 1984
• tenderness · lady chatterley’s lover
• elinor and marianne · sense and sensibility
  
• the summer of the shark · jaws
• catch-18 · catch-22
• ba ba black sheep · gone with the wind
• a jewish patient begins his analysis · portnoy’s complaint
• the various arms · to have and have not
• bar-b-q · the postman always rings twice
• something that happened · of mice and men

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*or according to seinfeld: war, what is good for?