Yesterday I had this sudden urge to play on Twitter and so posted: “Who moved my treasure? #GadiantonSelfHelpTitles.” For those unfamiliar with Twitter adding the pound sign to a word or phrase designates it as a “hashtag”, which means other users can search for it and see all the posts that use that hashtag. It also acts as an unofficial invitation to others to post in theme with the hashtag. Now, I can’t claim that this idea is originally mine because I have a vague recollection of something similar to it coming across radar at some point in the past. But I was very pleased to see that this iteration of it took off. And it proved once again that Mormons on Twitter are hilarious. Although the ultimate proof is the juggernaut that was #mormonpioneertweets, which produced an amazing number of tweets, many of them completely hilarious and all of them, sadly, no longer available when I search for that hash tag. I guess we’ll have to wait until we can pull them out of the National Archives. It will, no doubt, be the subject of a dissertation one of these days.
And so because Twitter is terrible at archiving, I grabbed screenshots of all the additional #GadiantonSelfHelpTitles posts that happened in the two hours after I started it. To view them, visit the motleyvision flickr set. I’ve posted the first screenshot below — there are ten screenshots in total and more than 40 punchlines contribute by more than 10 Twitter users. Many thanks to all those who participated — you all amused me greatly. If I missed one or you have one to add, give us a shout in the comments below.
A Motley Vision 
Good ones! how about:
The Dumbest Assassination Mistakes Smart People Make
Nice.
How about:
The One Minute Murderer
First Things Last: Discovering and Reviving Ancient Forms of Evil in Your Hometown
Great to Abominable
All very funny, but that second one is especially hilarious, Adam.
Aaaaaand I’m drawing a blank.
But I will be back to read more funny titles.
Reading this post makes me see some upsides to twitter. 🙂
Secret Combinations for Dummies
How to Succeed in Murder Without Really Trying
What Color is Your Garotte?
Vulture by Vulture
Everything You Wanted to Know About Wickedness*
*(But Were Afraid To Ask)
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FYI: This was a conversation piece at a get-together tonight and I had nothing to do with it. I had only seen one and didn’t realize it was more than that. Successful meme!
Thanks, Lee. I was trying to figure out how to parody What Color is Your Parachute but couldn’t quite get the noun right — Garotte is perfect.
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You must run in rarefied circles, Th.
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nosurfgirl:
If you can find the right people to follow and don’t get too obsessive about it, twitter can be really great.
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Garotte was indeed perfect.
OK, how bout:
The Pillager Within
Feel the Qualm and Do it Anyway
The Four Secret Agreements
Man’s Search For A Good Place To Hide
I wanted to do something with C. Terry Warner’s title but couldn’t come up with anything that satisfied me. Anyone? Anyone?
And don’t forget their line of attractive magazines for those who want a little lighter fare:
Robber’s Digest
Fort’s Illustrated
Popular Defiance
Abuseweek
Entertainment Wreakly
Vanity Swear
and of course, for the adult crowd, there’s Preyboy.
My personal favorite is Cave, but even better is the tumblr blog Unhappy Gadiantons, which takes photos from Cave and adds amusing captions.
Leadership and Mass Deception
How to Kill Friends and Manipulate People
All I Really Need to Know About Betrayal I Learned in Kindergarten
The Greatest Assassin in the World
How Conspiracies Succeed and Fail
The Richest Man in Zarahemla
Pole Dancing: Or How to Use Your Body to Accomplish Your Evil Plans
Seducing Your Political Leader in Five Easy Steps
The Gentle Art of Infiltrating Nephite Strongholds