This is styled with table width:100% - note the widths are stretched proportionally to the text inside the cell to fill the width
1
two
the number three
1
two
the number three
4
1
two
the number three
4
five golden rings
This is styled with td width:5% - note the widths are forced to be equal, even at the expense of wrapping text (although not clipping or in-word breaking)