History may be written by the victors, but proteins are often named by geeky developmental biologists.

When they discover a new molecule, some of them jump at the opportunity to inject a little goofy humor into their otherwise dry research projects.

Many of the most appalling titles come belong to the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, which is one of the most well-studied organisms on earth. Others can be found in exotic African fruit or even our own bodies.

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Image: Sonic Hedgehog protein from the Wikimedia Commons rendered by Peter Znamenskiy