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CERN Gives Away Higgs Boson Particles To 10 Lucky Winners

redletterdave writes "In an unprecedented move sure to shake up the world of particle physics, CERN announced on Monday that it will give away its newly-discovered Higgs boson particles in a lottery. But given the rarity of Higgs boson particles – only one particle is created out of one million million collisions – CERN will only be able to reward 10 lucky winners. 'At CERN, we have always believed in sharing the results of our research, and the time has come to make that tangible,' said CERN director of research Sergio Bertolucci. 'This is our way of saying thanks for the incredible level of enthusiasm that has greeted this discovery.'"

9 of 71 comments (clear)

  1. zvyyvba the new xyzzy? by Quirkz · · Score: 2, Funny

    I noticed the double zvyyvba in there as translation for "million million". It's got a nice pattern to it. I think it should be the new substitute for xyzzy. It's also what I'm going to pick from now on whenever I get to a site that already has the first 100 instances of my name plus number taken and I need some random username. The best part is it'll have a secret hidden meaning only obsessive ROT-13'ers will ever recognize.

    1. Re:zvyyvba the new xyzzy? by Quirkz · · Score: 4, Funny

      That's okay, I'm sure zvyyvba01 will still be available.

  2. My very own Higgs boson particle. by meddle99 · · Score: 4, Funny

    My very own little Higgs boson particle. I will hug him and squeeze him and name him George.

    1. Re:My very own Higgs boson particle. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      only coming through
      only
      ONLY....

    2. Re:My very own Higgs boson particle. by Ken_g6 · · Score: 2

      My very own little Higgs boson particle. I will hug him and squeeze him and name him George.

      And you can get a "Higgs boson" that you can do all that to for just $10.49 + shipping!

      --
      (T>t && O(n)--) == sqrt(666)
  3. Always read the fine print. by MiniMike · · Score: 5, Funny

    Winner must be present at particle detector to receive prize. Winner must claim prize within 1.6×1022 s. Winner is responsible for all costs associated with removing prize from CERN property. CERN is not responsible for damages caused by spontaneous decay of prize. Winner is responsible for removing any decay products from CERN property at their own expense.

  4. Nice one! by mwvdlee · · Score: 5, Insightful

    That's actually a pretty funny April's fool.
    Too bad Slashdot screwed it up by applying it's terribly unfunny Rot13 thing.
    Kinda like an annoying cartman yelling "Hey! Look at me! Give me attention!".
    Any other tech/nerd/geek-oriented site with comments to replace the downward spiral that is slashdot?

    --
    Slashdot social media options: AIM, ICQ, Yahoo, Jabber and Mobile Text. Why no MySpace?
    1. Re:Nice one! by MiniMike · · Score: 2

      Any other tech/nerd/geek-oriented site with comments to replace the downward spiral that is slashdot?

      I also like to read this site:
      c5e2 4601 86f7 233c 927e 7dc2 dcc7 03c0 e500 b653 ca82 273b 7bfa d804 5a85 a470

      Note that the URL has been encoded using a SHA routine for your protection.

  5. So they're unloading refurbished Higgs bosons by al.caughey · · Score: 2

    I guess after smashing them in the particle accelerator, they tend to get banged up a bit...
    What's the warranty period?