Copy Edit du Jour

I came across this sentence (which I slightly disguised here) in an article I'm editing.

The popularity of fashion eyeglass frames began to spread, becoming so popular
in the late 1920s that the Sears catalogue dedicated an entire page to them.

I'm still noodling over it. Does popularity spread? Or is it more idiomatic to say it grows or perhaps increases? And I almost overlooked that dangling participle, which seems to suggest "popularity became so popular."

Here are some alternatives I'm toying with.

The popularity of fashion eyeglass frames grew. By the 1920s, the Sears
catalogue dedicated an entire page to them.

The popularity of fashion eyeglass frames grew so much that in the late 1920s
the Sears catalogue dedicated an entire page to them.

Fashion eyeglass frames started to get popular. By the late 1920s the Sears
catalogue dedicated an entire page to them.

Fashion eyeglass frames became so popular that by the late 1920s the the Sears catalogue dedicated an entire page to them.

Hmmm. I think I'll go with that last one.

Copy Edit du Jour (or at least du matin)

Like the presidential election, change is a popular theme at Widgets Inc. this year.

Changed to:

As in the presidential election, change is a popular theme at Widgets Inc. this year.

The reason: The first sentence parallels "change" with "the presidential election" -- suggesting that change is like the election. That's clearly not what the writer meant.

Dangler, Cliche du Jour

Dangler* du Jour: "Themed 'Where the Wild Things Are,' kids can have fun in this interactive animal exhibit."

Better: "Themed 'Where the Wild Things Are,' this interactive animal exhibit is a fun place for kids."

Cliche du Jour: "She's like a bad boomerang. She just keeps coming back."

Better:

No, that white space isn't a mistake.

(*Procured while copy editing. As always, the actual words are changed to protect the innocent. As always, "the innocent" means me.)

Dangler du Jour

“With an all-new cast, set and score, fans will fall in love with ‘Phantom’ all
over again.”

Changed to:

“With an all-new cast, set and score, ‘Phantom’ will have fans falling in love
all over again."

(Names and details changed to protect the innocent -- i.e. me.)