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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."

2 of 28 comments (clear)

  1. 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.

  2. 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.