essay

joke research papers

To revisit this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories .

  • Backchannel
  • Newsletters

WIRED Insider

  • WIRED Consulting

The 10 most absurd published scientific papers

This article was taken from the April issue of Wired UK magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online

Not many grad students see the funny side of science. Meredith Carpenter and Lillian Fritz-Laylin, from the Molecular and Biology Department at UC Berkeley, not only see it but blog it. Their site, ncbirofl.com (National Center for Biotechnology Information, Rolling On the Floor Laughing), is a repository for absurd published scientific papers. Here is their top ten...

Optimising the sensory characteristics and acceptance of canned cat food: use of a human taste panel. (Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition)

Effects of cocaine on honeybee dance behaviour. (Journal of Experimental Biology)

Swearing as a response to pain. (NeuroReport)

Pigeons can discriminate "good" and "bad" paintings by children. (Animal Cognition)

The "booty call": a compromise between men's and women's ideal mating strategies. (The Journal of Sex Research)

Intermittent access to beer promotes binge-like drinking in adolescent but not adult Wistar rats. (Alcohol)

Fellatio by fruit bats prolongs copulation time. (PLoS One)

More information than you ever wanted: does Facebook bring out the green-eyed monster of jealousy? (Cyberpsychology and Behavior)

Are full or empty beer bottles sturdier and does their fracture-threshold suffice to break the human skull? (Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine)

The nature of navel fluff. (Medical Hypotheses)

This article was originally published by WIRED UK

14 Last-Minute Deals From Home Depot and Lowe’s Spring Sale Events

Matt Jancer

Cyberspies Hacked Cisco Firewalls to Access Government Networks

Andy Greenberg

The Showdown Over Who Gets to Build the Next DeLorean

Kathy Gilsinan

Noncompetes Are Dead&-and Tech Workers Are Free to Roam

Amanda Hoover

Plant-Based Meat Boomed. Here Comes the Bust

Matt Reynolds

Doctors Combined a Heart Pump and Pig Kidney Transplant in Breakthrough Surgery

Emily Mullin

Green Roofs Are Great. Blue-Green Roofs Are Even Better

David Kushner

They Experimented on Themselves in Secret. What They Discovered Helped Win a War

Rachel Lance

The Rise of the Carbon Farmer

Jessica Rawnsley

Can You Really Run on Top of a Train, Like in the Movies?

Rhett Allain

We Finally Know Where Neuralink’s Brain Implant Trial Is Happening

alt=

To complete the subscription process, please click the link in the email we just sent you.

0, text: error()">

Let's fight boredom together!

Become a member

0, text: error(), css: errorCssClass">

Password reminder

Please provide your email address and we will send your password shortly.

If there's a Bored Panda account associated with , you'll receive an email with instructions.

If you don't receive an email, please check your spam inbox, or enter your email address again .

Please enter your email to complete registration

Activate to continue

Your account is not active. We have sent an email to the address you provided with an activation link. Check your inbox, and click on the link to activate your account.

  • Relationships

The Bored Panda iOS app is live! Fight boredom with iPhones and iPads here .

  • Partnership
  • Success stories
  • --> -->