Mastodawn

@unusnemo @gutenberg_org Apologies for the confusion caused. I was intrigued by PG’s mention of a commemorative sign (and so took the bait): it would have been quite interesting to actually be able to walk past a building and learn that an important discovery had been made right where I was standing!

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dave cykl 2d ago

@unusnemo @gutenberg_org I’m referring to the “Absolute Zero Discovery Point” sign that was highlighted in PG’s original post. You presumably didn’t read the linked article?

Its story about Kelvin falling in the Kelvin and becoming “the coldest thing in the entire universe” is a lighthearted joke.

As I mentioned in my previous comment, the thinking and research will have been done nearby, however (or possibly not quite so very nearby as the Gilmorehill campus was not built until later).

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dave cykl 2d ago

@unusnemo @gutenberg_org •Of course• Kelvin (River), Kelvin (Lord) and kelvin exist, but the “Absolute Zero Discovery Point” sign is a prank, although erected only a few hundred metres from the University of Glasgow campus itself.

(I have drunk in the coffee shop opposite which provided much better fluids for intellectual inspiration than the chilly waters of the Kelvin!)

There are numerous similar “official looking” signs around Glasgow which are very well known to local people 😉

dave cykl 2d ago

Charlie Stross 2d ago

Mad idea: given that the US Supreme Court ruled that the President essentially has immunity from criminal prosecutions for acts during his term in office, could J. D. Vance plausibly shoot Donald Trump dead, thereby becoming President, and claim immunity?

(I know this is very silly and Won't Happen for several reasons, but is there a legal fig-leaf he could hide behind here?)

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dave cykl 2d ago

@etchedpixels @revk The “aim” comment is reminding me that I remember once reading on the internet somewhere about underground/metro trains somewhere which had pictorial warning signs 🚫 on the inter-car doors of a stick man “going about his business” after a few drinks and a lightning flash indicating the perils of the live rail within “target distance”! 🚷🚱

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dave cykl 2d ago

@jackeric @revk Yeah, I also noticed the push buttons rather than rocker switches seeming very odd, and wondered whether that would actually conform to electrical regs?

These days •so much• random foreign-designed stuff is sold on various online tat bazaars and I suspect the safety authorities (do we even still have a suitably resourced body?) are just unable to whack-a-mole them all 😔😟

Then you see all the 1-star reviews: “My new charger melted and suddenly caught fire after 2 months”… 🤨😱

dave cykl 2d ago

RevK

2d ago

Does that make people in the UK wince at all... A power socket right next to a tap... I know other countries seem far less worried, but wow...

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dave cykl 2d ago

@gutenberg_org It seems some people will believe anything written on the internet …or written on a spoof sign erected by merry pranksters, of which there are quite a few around Glasgow! 😜

dave cykl 3d ago

Sadly too true: USA has arrested/deported foreign scientists and others recently.

"During the past year, it has become unsafe for our guests to visit the country. We cannot in good conscience ask the new winners, or the international journalists who cover the event, to travel to the USA this year."

https://www.theregister.com/2026/03/11/ig_nobel_prize_leaves_us/

#IgNobel