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Weasel Apparently Shuts Down World's Most Powerful Particle Collider (npr.org)

New reader mjnhbg1088 cites an article on NPR: A small mammal has sabotaged the world's most powerful scientific instrument. The Large Hadron Collider, a 17-mile superconducting machine designed to smash protons together at close to the speed of light, went offline overnight. Engineers investigating the mishap found the charred remains of a furry creature near a gnawed-through power cable. "We had electrical problems, and we are pretty sure this was caused by a small animal," says Arnaud Marsollier, head of press for CERN, the organization that runs the $7 billion particle collider in Switzerland. Although they had not conducted a thorough analysis of the remains, Marsollier says they believe the creature was "a weasel, probably." The shutdown comes as the LHC was preparing to collect new data on the Higgs Boson, a fundamental particle it discovered in 2012. The Higgs is believed to endow other particles with mass, and it is considered to be a cornerstone of the modern theory of particle physics. CERN says the creature may have been a marten.

9 of 125 comments (clear)

  1. Updating the systems manual... by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 4, Funny

    There are bugs, and then there are weasels.

  2. Pop... by Vulch · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...Goes the weasel.

  3. Mandatory by Virtucon · · Score: 3, Funny
    --
    Harrison's Postulate - "For every action there is an equal and opposite criticism"
    1. Re:Mandatory by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 4, Funny

      Just before the power went down, many people reported hearing words, reverberating throughout the length of the tunnel containing the Large Hadron Collider...

      I AM WEASEL!

      Michael Dorn has been cleared of all wrongdoing, as numerous eyewitnesses placed him on a California studio lot at the time of the incident.

      --
      #DeleteChrome
  4. Science denying weasel by Photonmaker · · Score: 2, Funny

    I thought he was campaigning in Indiana.

  5. So... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    ...the LHC was about to destroy the universe and the surviving timeline involved a weasel chewing through a power cable this time.

  6. Re:words by Kernel+Kurtz · · Score: 3, Funny

    Weaseling out of things is what sets us apart from the animals. Except the weasel....

  7. Re:Might sound crazy. . . by wonkey_monkey · · Score: 3, Funny

    No, a weasel is weasily wecognisable. Stoats are stoatally different.

    --
    systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
  8. Re:Weasel / Marten confusion. by pcervasio · · Score: 3, Funny

    So I guess they suffered a Marten Short.