It turns out Greta Thunberg may have been right about Andrew Tate - men who own sports cars are, in fact, likely to be overcompensating for something.
Unless you've been living under a rock, you probably heard Thunberg's earth-shattering mic drop when she single-handedly served ex-kickboxer and social media star, Andrew Tate, a one-two punch in a war of words on Twitter last month.
On December 27, Tate - a self-proclaimed misogynist who has since been detained on charges of rape and human trafficking - directed a tweet at the climate change activist, bragging about his fleet of "33 cars" that produced "enormous emissions".
"Hello @GretaThunberg. I have 33 cars. My Bugatti has a w16 8.0L quad turbo. My TWO Ferrari 812 competizione have 6.5L v12s. This is just the start. Please provide your email address so I can send a complete list of my car collection and their respective enormous emissions [sic]," Tate, 36, wrote alongside a photo of him putting petrol in a metallic Bugatti.
In perhaps the most ruthless yet deliciously unbothered comeback of the decade, Thunberg clapped back: "Yes, please do enlighten me. Email me at smalld***energy@getalife.com."
For the uninitiated, the phrase "small d*** energy" implies that men who demonstrate absurd levels of self-confidence - often accompanied by driving flashy cars or flaunting their finances to create an image of power and influence - are usually overcompensating for their small pee-pees.
And according to research from University College London (UCL), there is in fact a correlation between owning an ostentatious vehicle and having a smaller-than-average penis.
The new study, published as a preprint in PsyArXiv, a repository for the psychological sciences, aimed to determine if there was an identifiable link between owning a sports car and perceived penis size.
Psychologists recruited 200 English-speaking men aged 18 to 74 to complete an online test. The participants were first shown a statement for a period of seven seconds, before this screen was replaced by an image of a product. The men then had to move a slider to indicate how much they wanted to purchase the product, which could be an everyday item or a luxury good. The last screen of the test showed a final statement, and participants had to answer whether it was the same or different to the statement initially shown.
The participants were told the statements were factual, and the purpose of the test was to investigate 'how people remember facts at the same time as shopping for products'. However, the statements weren't always accurate.
According to the preprint, one of the statements falsely claimed to the participants that the average erect size of a penis was either 7.1 inches (18cm) or 4 inches (10 cm). In reality, the average size of a penis is 5.1 inches (or 13cm) - however, the study noted that those who were given the lower value were made to feel "relatively better" about themselves while completing the test.
Alternatively, those who were shown the slide with the higher value were intentionally made to feel like their penises were below average, which in turn, could cause feelings of insecurity and inadequacy. Between the statements regarding penis size, the participants were shown an image of a sports car and were required to indicate their desire to own the vehicle.
The researchers analysed the results and found that men over 30 who were made to feel like their penis was below average in size were more likely to want to buy the sports car. The results also indicated that men who were made to feel like they had a larger penis tended to have less of an interest in luxury vehicles as they aged.
Alternatively, those who were made to feel like they had a smaller penis tended to remain interested in sports cars regardless of their age, which the researchers said may be indicative of lower self-esteem.
The study, which has yet to be peer-reviewed, raises "intriguing questions for future research", the authors said, noting there appears to be "something specific linking cars and penises in the male psyche".
"That hypothesis is supported by the data in this paper, and would explain the existence of the phallic car trope in everyday jokes, advertisements and academic discourse.
"The luxury automotive industry may be unwilling to acknowledge this link, but our results do provide some succour.
"While demand for their product might be motivated by feelings of genital inadequacy, this is a feeling shared by many of their customers."
And as for Andrew Tate? He has been arrested on charges of rape and human trafficking.
Tate has previously said women belong in the home, can't drive, and are a man's property, and stated that rape victims must "bear responsibility" for their attacks.
