NOTE: This new post is not about the Large Hadron Collider itself, or how it will/won't kill us all. If you want to discuss that, take it to the several threads on it. This news post is for talking about people over-hyping it, even when they don't know anything about it other than what they heard on the radio.
With the turning on of the Hadron Collider tomorrow, there is a lot of hype going around about how it will end the world. From what I've heard today, a lot of this hype came from people who had no idea what it is, or what it is supposed to do. As far as most of them know, it is a machine that creates black holes and it's going to end the world.
So, on the bus today, I couldn't help but hearing a group of girls having a [very loud] conversation about the "machine that creates black holes".
To show her immense knowledge of it, one of the girls told the others that the end of the world was coming. But she wasn't sure which day. So:
"The end of the world is going to happen today, yesterday, or tomorrow!"
Yeah... right.
Also on the bus was someone who is very christian (despite having very little knowlege of the faith, following her friends rather blindly). Her comment on the LHC was:
"When it explodes and they prove the Big Bang didn't happen, what is the point of killing everyone?"
Obviously, I've heard people talking about it several times today (including one guy, who can be very arrogant and annoying, telling all of the people he catches the bus with, that in case they die, he loves them all), but some comments, although ignorant, weren't as plain stupid.
I was afraid of leaving this on the forum, since I'm sure the mods are getting pretty pissed off with all of the Large Hadron Collider threads. Even though this isn't one, the thread for everyone's "last words" degraded into yet another argument about the world ending. So, it is here (where it won't get as much notice, sadly, but there you go). Perhaps I'll put it on the General Forum after the supposed black hole doesn't happen.
Anyway, has anyone else heard something funny today (or in the past few days) from people who know nothing, talking about the Large Hadron Collider?
Edit: Stephen Hawking quote:
"I thought of having an end of the world party, but then I saw the media might not realise it was a joke."