Sometimes, get the mistaken impression that scientists do not have a sense of humor. That much of the material is dry and humorless.
Well, maybe that's the perception. It was my own back in high school, when my biology teacher, who is actually a decent guy, just seemed to drone on and on with a voice that lacked any inflection, and material that possessed even less inflection - at least the way it was delivered. At that time, the Wonder Years had a character that was a science teacher, and he, too, also reinforced this stereotype about the boring, toneless scientist.
But then again, there's Einstein, who seemed to have a great sense of humor! So does Stephen hawking!
And so, apparently, does science magazine!
Now this was really funny!
I knew it was a joke beforehand, because unfortunately, the first line of the article now (though not on April Fool's Day) was that this was all an elaborate prank.
But that was not how it was originally published. And, truth be told, it would have taken me a while into the article before I fully understood it to be an April Fool's gag.
The science looks real enough for much of it, and everything else seems legit, at least initially. There are clues that it is all just a spoof, especially now, that first line, outright saying it.
Still, it was enough to fool some people,.
Most likely, had I run into this article just two days ago, I would have been among the fooled.
How about you? Read this article for kicks now, and see if you might have believed it and, if so, when you would have realized it was all just a joke.
"Scientists Find Imprint of Universe That Existed Before the Big Bang" by Richard Stone of Science Magazine, April 1, 2014:
http://news.sciencemag.org/physics/2014/04/scientists-find-imprint-universe-existed-big-bang
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