I bet the New Yorker cartoon caption contest brings in dozens of more or less synonymous entries each week with slight differences in wording and nuance. I imagine that the people involved in judging the contest could make a fascinating short essay or blog post on the nature of humor writing by sharing some of those synonymous captions and talking about why a slight wording change works differently and better. So many New Yorker readers are writerly people--I bet readers would love a thoughtful piece on this subject. I know I would.

PS. I sent a note to the cartoon staff there suggesting this idea.