CERN levels up with new superconducting karts(home.cern)
254 pointsby fnands7 hours ago19 comments
  • NewLogic25 minutes ago
    Takes me back to the week we all thought room temperature super conductors might be a solved problem.
  • Akuehne4 hours ago
    This got me. Thought it was real, busted out laughing when I read the project leads name. It still didn't click.
    • throw1010104 hours ago
      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

      • adrian_b2 hours ago
        Also "project leader Mario Idraulico" (i.e. "hydraulic" in Italian) or "Safety coordinator Luigi Fratello" ("Brother Luigi").
      • hapidjus3 hours ago
        There is also ”project leader Mario Idraulico”
    • marricksan hour ago
      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.
      • Pixelbrick14 minutes ago
        I'd of said I had limited appetite for April fools gubbins this year too but this still made me smile :)
    • charltonesan hour ago
      Also the hat and mustache of the kart driver.
    • shdudns3 hours ago
      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!"

    • newsclues2 hours ago
      I read the title and thought CERN + Mario Kart and am giggling.
    • riffraff3 hours ago
      ah! got me too!
    • shevy-java3 hours ago
      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.

      • riffraff3 hours ago
        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).
  • PunchyHamster5 hours ago
    We need followup post exactly 365 days later describing first karting accident inside CERN
  • cern5 hours ago
    CERN Research Facility, Geneva. Subject: Gordon Freeman, Male, Age 27
    • fnands3 hours ago
      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.

  • ourmandave3 hours ago
    I would pay stupid money for a CERN Tunnel Rainbow Road track DLC.
  • gnarlouse7 hours ago
    Happy April Fools Day!
    • pjmlp6 hours ago
      As Alumni, the tables outside R1 are prime for getting ideas, with some help from fermented barley, especially after work during Summertime.
    • fnands7 hours ago
      I always look forward to CERN's April fools jokes!
    • lloydatkinson6 hours ago
      I can't believe people are still doing this
      • hidroto4 hours ago
        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"

      • junon5 hours ago
        How dare people have fun.
      • MisterTea3 hours ago
        You must be a real hoot at parties.
  • stego-tech2 hours ago
    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."

  • rbanffy5 hours ago
    I really miss Think Geek :-(
    • jansan5 hours ago
      When they later actually sold the t-shirt they had previously presented as an April Fools joke? That was pretty cool.
    • taneq4 hours ago
      I still had a Timmy the Monkey sticker on the lid of my kitchen bin up until a couple of years ago.
  • thomasgeelens5 hours ago
    oh my, I should really visit one day, I'm not even that far from CERN
    • fnands4 hours ago
      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.
  • rippeltippel4 hours ago
    Right on time! "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie" released today.
  • nicman233 hours ago
    if you reached c with such a cart - nevermind the heat from air friction, would you be able to breath from a rebreather?
  • koolala6 hours ago
    high temperature super conductors my beloved
  • Noe20977 hours ago
    > 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.

    • coldsmoke4 hours ago
      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
      • fnands4 hours ago
        Nice, I didn't get it.

        I just realized "Kyouryuu" is Japanese for dinosaur.

        And Pfirsich is of course Peach.

  • anthk3 hours ago
    As an homage, Supertuxkart might add a CERN-LHC inspired level with a wormhole as a secret path.
  • shevy-java3 hours ago
    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".

  • aaron6956 hours ago
    [dead]
  • groundzeros20154 hours ago
    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.
    • taneq4 hours ago
      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.
      • groundzeros20154 hours ago
        I’m ignorant. It’s a meme about their optics being terrible after steam ran out for 90s science optimism.
        • ahartmetz3 hours ago
          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.
  • voidUpdate7 hours ago
    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
    • kakacik7 hours ago
      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
      • gostsamo6 hours ago
        There is a Luigi on the team as well. How it can't be true?
        • hawkjo5 hours ago
          And Yoshi. And Pfirsich, which is Peach in German
        • edwcross6 hours ago
          Fratello. Must be a bro.
    • tgsovlerkhgsel7 hours ago
      CTRL+F "safety and health"
  • rvnx6 hours ago
    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).

    • fnands5 hours ago
      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.

    • steve19775 hours ago
      As a tax payer in one of the member states, I approve of this joke.
    • kryptiskt4 hours ago
      The Web is a side project of CERN, they should have gotten a comped top-level domain by rights.