Are These Real or Fake Titles of Academic Papers? See if You Can Tell the Difference!
By Milo Gardner-Stephens and Tara Weling
(Originally Published April 4, 2025)
Bike Helmets and Biopolitics: Life Making and Cycling Safety Campaigns in the 21st Century
The Anal Epistemology of Esculacho: Feminist Operatives of Brazilian Funk
"Kill Yourself": Agency, Subjectivity, and Linguistic Violence in Xbox Live
A Womb of His Own: Joyce's Sexual Aesthetics
Masculinity and Gator Wrestling in the Florida Everglades
Brat Charlixaceae: A New Genus of Indonesian Pitcher Plant
Behavior and Misbehavior of the Horse
Cartoon and Gender: Masculinities in SpongeBob
Planning That Title: Practices and Preferences for Titles with Colons in Academic Articles
"I Knew I Shouldn’t Have Gotten Out Of Bed Today": The Portrayal of Depression in SpongeBob SquarePants
The Phallic Judge: Masculinity and Imperialism in Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian
"Amogus": Memes, Shitposting, and Postmodernism on the Modern Internet
On the Rheology of Cats
The Digital Id: Applications of AI Toward Freudian Psychoanalysis
"The Discourse Never Stops": Social and Political Dynamics at a Small Liberal Arts College
Practice of Neurosurgery on Saturn
Gorilla Warfare: Herd Mentality in Rwandan Mountain Gorillas
Effeminate Gay Bottoms in the West: Narratives of Pussyboys and Boiwives on Tumblr
Experimental Replication Shows Knives Manufactured from Frozen Human Feces Do Not Work
Arabidopsis thalian't: Polyploid Induced Artificial Speciation in Arabidopsis Plants
A Dead Horse, You Can't Beat It: Equine Carcass Disposal Laws and Practices
Head and Neck Injury Risks in Heavy Metal: Head Bangers Stuck Between Rock and a Hard Bass
Does Self-Hatred Exist in the Animal Kingdom?: A Case Study of the Colobus Monkey
Why I Am So Stupid
Why Are Some Microorganisms Boring?
Skeletal Fluorosis Due to Excessive Tea Drinking
Answer Key
Real: 2, 4, 7, 8, 9, 16, 18, 19, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26
Fake: 1, 3, 5, 6, 10, 11 (shoutout to Caleb Stanco for this one), 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 20, 23