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We first became engrossed in the Thursday Styles piece on adult kids who pilfer from their parents because we wondered how the Times had so perfectly captured our cheapskate little brother without actually speaking to him. ("He goes to Costco and has 40, so I'm like, 'I'll take eight,'" Stephen Kunken told the Times about filching Mach 3 razors from his dad, and we're pretty sure we've heard our own li'l cheapie say the same thing, verbatim, on the train back into the city.)

We wondered what insightful reporter had pulled off this feat of clairvoyance, and that's when we noticed something odd: The article is unbylined. Nothing at all in the print edition, and a simple "By The New York Times" online.

Which made us curious. What writer was too embarrassed to put his or her name on this?

It's a totally manufactured "new" trend, so it had the markings of a Jenny 8. masterpiece. But, then again, there wasn't a catchy name for the young thieves — "Klepto Kids," maybe? — so it probably wasn't her. We popped into Friendster to see if perhaps the sources were all friends of Zoe Wolff's, but alas no.

Then we went back to the article online and discovered that a byline had finally been added: Stephanie Rosenbloom is the once-anonymous culprit.

We assumed she was simply so embarrassed by fawning all over Stephanie Klein on Sunday that she couldn't bring herself to attach her name to this piece, too — until finally she had a sober-light-of-morning burst of conscience and added it online at about 10:30.

But then we had another thought. We're betting a copy editor with Klepto Kids of his own finally took his revenge last night and stole something back, something valuable: No matter how silly the piece, no one wants to lose a Times byline.

It's the Kids. Lock Up the China! [NYT]