- Mario Idraulico says „mamma mia, they’re super”. Gosh I love April.
- Takes me back to the week we all thought room temperature super conductors might be a solved problem.
- That served a useful purpose- it let you objectively identify how gullible everyone you know is.
- There was more than enough skepticism and cautious optimism too. While it sounded too soon to be real, it wasn't unlike carbon nanotubes, graphene, or solid state batteries — previously unachievable material-tech getting validation in the lab, with a 20yr pipeline for global production. With even nuclear fusion being achieved in very specific / limited instances in the last decade, it's not inconceivable to hope that maybe RTSC are just around the corner.
- It also served the purpose of finding out who the cynical Debbie Downers who have no hope are as well!
- If your hope for the future is based on believing the most obviously-impossible technological claim in the world, you're way more cynical than I am.
- Why are room temperature superconductors an 'obviously-impossible' technological claim?
Asking since we've managed to increase superconductor temperature several times in the past, right? (to ~ -130 degrees celsius right now IIRC). Why is our current temperature of, say ~30 degrees celsius special?
- Its not at all clear that room temperature superconductors are impossible, it's a materials problem. If someone was to find one that is probably how they would do it - testing materials for some other property and finding it accidentally.
- Oh god, wow. It's obviously impossible? Please please please write a paper on that, you can save so much scientist time!
- How?
- This got me. Thought it was real, busted out laughing when I read the project leads name. It still didn't click.
- Small clue here too, maybe more subtle:
> explained school director, Rosalina Pfirsich, looking up from her storybook
Pfirsich in German means Peach, as in Princess Peach :D
- Also "project leader Mario Idraulico" (i.e. "hydraulic" in Italian) or "Safety coordinator Luigi Fratello" ("Brother Luigi").
- The noun “idraulico” also means “plumber”.
- Also the schoolteacher Yoshi Kyouryuu which apparently is the dinosaur.
- They’ve also got:
> schoolteacher Yoshi Kyouryuu, mid-way through painting spots on eggs
- You somehow identified the last possible, most obscure clue. Mario, Luigi, Rosalina, and Yoshi show up before that.
- There is also ”project leader Mario Idraulico”
- Also the hat and mustache of the kart driver.
- Someone was saying "can we just not with April fools" this year because everything is so grim and dire in the world... but I think this is such a perfect level we need. I could go for more whimsy like this.
- I'd of said I had limited appetite for April fools gubbins this year too but this still made me smile :)
- This one was good. It was pretty low-stakes and not anything that would impact anyone. For a while there, companies like Google were announcing products that sounded like a good idea, but turned out were just them trolling everyone over things people had been requesting for a long time.
- Their heyday of good jokes was also when they hadn't produced any ads and seemed like an underdog. "Don't Be Evil" days.
Vibe-wise they all feel closer to Raytheon and I sure as fuck wouldn't want to see an attempt at a whimsical joke from Raytheon.
- Man I fell for it until I saw your post. In fact, I was just about to post what the man's name means in Italian.
I was even going to point out how ironic it is that the mans first name and last name fit together so well.
In my defense I only got as far as idraulico and missed the "Mamma mia, they're super!"
- I read the title and thought CERN + Mario Kart and am giggling.
- ah! got me too!
- For me it was easier. While I forgot it was first april, the image was too outrageous. Looked like AI-generated slop.
They may have had more success with another image. AI slop made us lazy.
- IMO a made up "artist conception" picture on an article like this would have been perfectly appropriate, we've seen worse (think of the whole NEOM thingy).
- We need followup post exactly 365 days later describing first karting accident inside CERN
- Exactly
- CERN Research Facility, Geneva. Subject: Gordon Freeman, Male, Age 27
- Gérard Hommelibre?
Bonjour, and bienvenue to the Black Mesa - pardon, la Mesa Noire - Établissement de Recherche. Please keep your hands inside le tramway at all times, and do try not to provoquer une cascade de résonance. Merci.
- I would pay stupid money for a CERN Tunnel Rainbow Road track DLC.
- How about for a real life Rainbow Road made by the Quantum Mushroom startup? I think that might be the aerospace applications reference in the article:
> CERN’s Knowledge Transfer Group has begun discussions with European startup company Quantum Mushroom to explore aerospace applications and powering for next-generation anti-gravity vehicles.
- I'd be cautious of residual Higgs Booson particles in the tunnels. They can cause unexpected phase shifts if encountered, which may expose the driver to unexpected hazards.
- The observer effect prevents Booson particles from traveling towards the observer
- Happy April Fools Day!
- As Alumni, the tables outside R1 are prime for getting ideas, with some help from fermented barley, especially after work during Summertime.
- I always look forward to CERN's April fools jokes!
- [flagged]
- This is the day upon which we are reminded of what we are on the other three hundred and sixty-four.
-- Mark Twain, "Pudd'nhead Wilson's Calendar"
- How dare people have fun.
- This is an old internet tradition. I am disappointed so few organizations are doing a good april fools day post nowadays.
- You must be a real hoot at parties.
- Ah, the stages of a good April Fool's nerd joke:
1, Reading the Headline on HN) "Man, this is probably going to be something more practical, but I wish they were superconducting go-karts or golf-carts to get around the facility in."
2, Reading the article) "...okay, I was right? Kinda? Huh. Something feels off. Wait a-"
3, Remembering the Date) "FUCK. OK, CERN got me. Good one. Still want a superconducting kart though."
- Mario Idraulico and Luigi Fratello overseeing this project? I hope the karts don't run into any stray kooparticles.
- Ofcourse the guy explaining the carts is called "Mario".
- Right on time! "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie" released today.
- [dead]
- oh my, I should really visit one day, I'm not even that far from CERN
- They do some good tours. They are first come/first serve, so show up in the morning for the best chance to get a place.
- high temperature super conductors my beloved
- > Each kart is turbo-boosted by 64 superconducting engines,” explains project leader Mario Idraulico
I guess we can now call you Mario 'Kart' Idraulico.
Oh wait.
Thank you CERN, that was a smart one.
- Since I didn't get the name reference either, here is a link for those who want a hint: https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idraulico
- Nice, I didn't get it.
I just realized "Kyouryuu" is Japanese for dinosaur.
And Pfirsich is of course Peach.
- Really enjoyed the "karts and equipment will reach underground areas via giant green pipes" caption on the LHC tunnel diagram.
- if you reached c with such a cart - nevermind the heat from air friction, would you be able to breath from a rebreather?
- Call me a killjoy I hate April fools jokes.
- Alright then: killjoy
- They missed a perfect spot to mention something about "Gordon".
(Half-Life joke)
- As an homage, Supertuxkart might add a CERN-LHC inspired level with a wormhole as a secret path.
- It took me a while to notice the first april, but actually the image was too unbelievable. But if such karts were possible, I bet the guys at CERN would absolutely use it. And then post on youtube.
We know how things happen in "professional research".
- [dead]
- Please bro. Just one more particle collider. This one will solve science. The last one wasn’t big enough. Please keep it in desirable real estate though.
- Each bigger one has in fact solved more of physics, after being built precisely because there was a good theoretical case for a higher energy collider being helpful.
- I’m ignorant. It’s a meme about their optics being terrible after steam ran out for 90s science optimism.
- As somebody slightly better informed (physics degree, following popular science): It really isn't looking great for something that could be found at a small multiple of current energies, but not at current energies.
- Is this an april fools joke? The title image looks so over-the-top that I really can't tell if it's a joke or not
- No of course not, they have Mario guys running around in karts doing maintenance of hyper complex system with wrenches. No physics can resist Mario's wrench, thats how we move humanity forward
- CTRL+F "safety and health"
- Meh joke considering this was paid on public money.
Same as choosing to spend xxx,xxx USD to have .cern when using subdomains would have worked too (and caused less validation / compatibility issues).
- They got the intern to write a funny post. Probably took them an hour and it drums up a bit of good press for the Hi-Lumi LHC.
Money well spent if you ask me.
- As a tax payer in one of the member states, I approve of this joke.
- The Web is a side project of CERN, they should have gotten a comped top-level domain by rights.
- This page cost taxpayers like 100 Euros maybe. How much money do you think scientists actually make? How much money and effort do you think it takes to post a blog article with a couple paragraphs of text and an image?
