diff --git a/lib/OpenLayers/Util.js b/lib/OpenLayers/Util.js
index 6d7681bf9b..77254cddff 100644
--- a/lib/OpenLayers/Util.js
+++ b/lib/OpenLayers/Util.js
@@ -1505,7 +1505,11 @@ OpenLayers.Util.createUrlObject = function(url, options) {
     }
     urlObject.args = OpenLayers.Util.getParameters(queryString);
 
-    //pathname (uniform browser behavior with leading "/")
+    // pathname
+    //
+    // This is a workaround for Internet Explorer where
+    // window.location.pathname has a leading "/", but
+    // a.pathname has no leading "/".
     urlObject.pathname = (a.pathname.charAt(0) == "/") ? a.pathname : "/" + a.pathname;
     
     return urlObject;