For those who just can't get their fill of the Large Hadron Collider, the New York Times has this on its Learning Network blog: The Particle Physics Fill-in:
Following two false starts due to electrical failures, __________ whipped to more than 99 percent of the speed of light and to energy levels of 3.5 trillion __________ apiece around a 17-mile underground magnetic racetrack outside of Geneva a little after 1 p.m. local time. They crashed together inside apartment-building sized __________ designed to capture every __________ flash and fragment from __________ fireballs thought to hold insights into the beginning of the world.
If the words look familiar, it's because they're from Dennis Overbye's story on last week's first collisions at the LHC.
Hmm, I thought -- lots of room for mischief here! Especially if you have the mind of an eight-year-old; at first glance this reminds me of those zany fill-in-the-blanks stories used to keep kids busy on long car trips. When my kids were young we spent many a happy mile cracking up at their wit, which mostly involved bodily functions. I can just see them filling these blanks:
Following two false starts due to electrical failures, poo-poo heads whipped to more than 99 percent of the speed of light and to energy levels of 3.5 trillion hamsters apiece around a 17-mile underground magnetic racetrack outside of Geneva a little after 1 p.m. local time. They crashed together inside apartment-building sized armpits designed to capture every disgusting flash and fragment from stinky green fireballs thought to hold insights into the beginning of the world.
The Times folks, being literal-minded and bent on education, have supplied the list of correct words at the bottom of the article. But just for fun, try filling in the blanks without looking at the list. This may be harder than you think; Overbye has a knack for writing multiple stories on the same subject and making every one of them feel fresh by employing a fresh supply of words.
Here's another bit of fun: Help kids write a song about the LHC.
Enjoy! Preferably on a long car trip, with someone else at the wheel.
