Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

CERN Looking For Help Filling In the Gaps In Photo Archive

Posted by samzenpus on from the what-does-this-look-like-to-you? dept.

rHBa writes According to the BBC scientists at the European nuclear research center CERN have uncovered an archive of images from its first 50 years and are asking for help in deciphering what is going on in them. Dr Sue Black, who was a key figure in the campaign to save Bletchley Park, said "we believe that much of this information could be crowd-sourced from the CERN community."

6 of 28 comments (clear)

  1. "Croudsourced." by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2

    Or, to put it more succintly, "we're too lazy and cheap to do the work ourselves, have at it Internet!"

  2. Go to Media but not CERN people? by Roger+W+Moore · · Score: 2

    How many of them (from the early days) have email addresses that CERN could contact them on

    Well I have a CERN email address and I still regularly visit CERN to work on an experiment there and this is the first I've heard about it. It seems strange that they went to the media before emailing those of us who were around during some of that period and are still working at CERN!

    1. Re:Go to Media but not CERN people? by rHBa · · Score: 2
      Fair enough, maybe they do have an ulterior motive, from TFA:

      "Crowdsourcing the information related to these images is a fabulous approach to public engagement and one which other institutions - scientific or not - would be wise to follow.

      "It engages public interest and imagination in a way that is interesting and exciting. It will also be a great exercise in demonstrating the power of crowdsourcing, possibly to an audience that has not experienced it before," she said.

  3. My guesses by Charliemopps · · Score: 5, Funny

    My guesses as follows:

    http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media...
    The Robo-tometrist. The first mechanical optometrist device. While every test subject did get a perfect eyeglass fitting, few after the fitting had eyes left to enjoy them with. And a couple even lost fingers.

    http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media...
    An experimental magnetic bong. No more bong water smell! Unfortunately researchers lost it along with their keys and can't remember how to build another one.

    http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media...
    A female scientist in the 80s? Clearly this was a Halloween party!

    http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media...
    Mecanical penises sound like a good idea until you actually see one in person.

    http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media...
    Come on, we all knew Carl Segans vacuum cleaner would have to look something like this.

    http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media...
    And his Latte machine and barista would look like this.

    http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media...
    Some jerk coughed into the magnetic bong. We thought it was bad getting water on your weed, but gamma rays? Now we're starting to remember why we lost that thing.

    http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media...
    CERN employees require a lot of coffee to get started in the mornings.

  4. My guess by timeOday · · Score: 3, Insightful
    Based on my experience with this type of thing, the answer is, "here is a scientist posed with a random piece of equipment and staged lighting to make a visually appealing image that looks science-y."

    More seriously, I think this crowdsourcing effort is likely to be overwhelmed with clever jokes or well-intentioned guesses.

  5. Re:Missing a comma by Roger+W+Moore · · Score: 2

    Well there is Brian Cox although technically I've never actually seen him at CERN despite working on the same experiment.