Unless the url was something like: compare?original=1©=2 In which case many browsers would treat the "©" as a copyright symbol, and your url would be completely bolloxed.Wouldn't the second var have to be ";copy"?
"copy;" you mean, right?
Have I been living a lie all these years by putting a semi-colon after my entities like a sucker?
no. but browser try to be smart. so if the text following a "&" is not an entity name they know, they assume you just meant "&" and not really an entity. if, however, the name is an entity they know, but there is no ";" following it, they assume you forgot the ";" and add it for you... this is the trouble with browsers trying to be smart: they somehow produce really surprising side-effects...