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I find it fascinating that in the footer of the article it reads …

"""

This article appeared in the Middle East and Africa section of the print edition under the headline “The prince’s time machine”

"""

Sounds like the online version of the Economist is starting to play around with less clever titles. To optimize for social media traffic perhaps?

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If a clever title does not express the gist of the article, it's a poor title. A clever but unclear title feels like clickbait, one weird trick that prevents me from clicking it.

You may have a clever subtitle when the article is already before the reader's eyes.

I usually read (or listen to) The Economist linearly, so interesting titles make sense when I don't need random access.

But these cute titles don't really work on the internet, where most people stumble upon Economist articles from a different context.

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