Apparently because it's linked with GNU readline, bc
version 1.05a-1 (the version in RedHat 5.2) prints out
a CR that it shouldn't every time it prints output; it
appears to print the regular output, a NL, and then a
CR. This is quite visible in a typescript (if viewed
with less), and in anything that doesn't require that
CR (such as the non-terminal emulator 9term, which uses
pure NLs and sets the stty modes correctly to match this).

 This doesn't happen in bc-1.04-5, the bc version from
RH 5.1.