I remember that as a kid, I'd talk terse and tough after watching a 'B'
grade gangster movie or Roy Rogers oater, and somehow imitation gave me
something in common with the hero.
Well, language evolves, that's for sure, but there may be another factor
involved in dropping the 's' off plurals; it may be that most of the people
doing the inappropriate ditching are amateurs trying to emulate the
'scientific' style of tabular notation used by scientists, with the
implicit idea that their own lists then take on a 'scientific' cachet.
Well, ornithologists *are* heroes, aren't they? ;-)

Michael Price
Vancouver BC Canada
michael_price at mindlink.bc.ca