Takes me back to the week we all thought room temperature super conductors might be a solved problem.
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:<p>> explained school director, Rosalina Pfirsich, looking up from her storybook<p>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").
They’ve also got:<p>> 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.
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.<p>I was even going to point out how ironic it is that the mans first name and last name fit together so well.<p>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.<p>They may have had more success with another image. AI
slop made us lazy.
CERN Research Facility, Geneva. Subject: Gordon Freeman, Male, Age 27
Gérard Hommelibre?<p>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.
We need followup post exactly 365 days later describing first karting accident inside CERN
I would pay stupid money for a CERN Tunnel Rainbow Road track DLC.
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!
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This is the day upon which we are reminded of what we are on the other three hundred and sixty-four.<p>-- Mark Twain, "Pudd'nhead Wilson's Calendar"
How <i>dare</i> 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.
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.
Mario Idraulico says „mamma mia, they’re super”. Gosh I love April.
Ah, the stages of a good April Fool's nerd joke:<p>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."<p>2, Reading the article) "...okay, I was right? Kinda? Huh. Something feels off. Wait a-"<p>3, Remembering the Date) "FUCK. OK, CERN got me. Good one. Still want a superconducting kart though."
I really miss Think Geek :-(
When they later actually sold the t-shirt they had previously presented as an April Fools joke? That was pretty cool.
I still had a Timmy the Monkey sticker on the lid of my kitchen bin up until a couple of years ago.
Right on time! "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie" released today.
Mario Idraulico and Luigi Fratello overseeing this project? I hope the karts don't run into any stray kooparticles.
oh my, I should really visit one day, I'm not even that far from CERN
high temperature super conductors my beloved
Ofcourse the guy explaining the carts is called "Mario".
> Each kart is turbo-boosted by 64 superconducting engines,” explains project leader Mario Idraulico<p>I guess we can now call you Mario 'Kart' Idraulico.<p>Oh wait.<p>Thank you CERN, that was a smart one.
if you reached c with such a cart - nevermind the heat from air friction, would you be able to breath from a rebreather?
Really enjoyed the "karts and equipment will reach underground areas via giant green pipes" caption on the LHC tunnel diagram.
As an homage, Supertuxkart might add a CERN-LHC inspired level with a wormhole as a secret path.
Call me a killjoy I hate April fools jokes.
They missed a perfect spot to mention something about "Gordon".<p>(Half-Life joke)
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.<p>We know how things happen in "professional research".
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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.
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.<p>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.<p>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?