Sunday, July 29, 2012

The Neolithic age meets the Nuclear Age - up the road from my cousins!


Yes this is wild. The Neolithic Age does meet the Nuclear Age up the road from where my cousins live.  And, I have the photos to prove it! 

To clarify:  The Neolithic Age, or the late stone age when agriculture evolved, is dated back to about 12,000 years ago give or take a century or two.  No problem so far.  


Fast forward 12,000 odd years to last weekend!  


That´s when we visited relations who live near Geneva on the French side of the Swiss-French border.  Their home is just down the road from CERN  - in fact, they pick up their breakfast croissants in the little bakery across the road from CERN. 


It would be very conCERNing for me if my, no doubt otherwise well read blog readers, (all 3 or you),  were left not knowing who or what CERN was.  They do Nuclear Research there, oh you know like particle physics, that kind of thing!   And they have a really cool circular tunnel about 20 miles in circumference, cool - when it is not hugely hot that is, in  which they swoosh particles of matter well over 100,000 times per second.  Yep. no typo there, that is 100,000.   So, you know, that´s the kind of stuff they do at CERN.   And to think my cousins get their baguettes for lunch right across from where this is all happening.  Stop and think about that for a moment.


(To find out more about CERN, you can learn about it on Wikipedia or check out the CERN website:   http://public.web.cern.ch/public/
In addition you could read Bill Byson´s excellent book A Short History of Nearly Everything which tells the stories of ... well ... nearly everything.  His books always include the juicy gossipy bits. - Gossip and knowledge, what´s not to love here!  Anyway, the good Mr. Bryson´s book has a chapter on CERN that´s worth a go over).


Now back to the Neolithic Age meeting the Nuclear Age, up the road from where my cousins live.  One evening we went for a stroll up the road.


On the brow of the hill I could see to the right this  working farm -  complete with ´agricultural odors´, no doubt the same odors ´enjoyed´ by the folks starting to keep cows and chickens etc  some 12,000 years ago!  






 And to the left I could see CERN.  Yes this photo with the big blue boxy business is not an IKEA warehouse, it is the back end of CERN.


In case you think I am making this up, I am including a third photo up close in front of the official entrance to CERN. 
  
 
Wow, to think I got my breakfast croissants right across the road! 
Über cool or what!  

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