Physicists at CERN and Brookhaven National Laboratory, who underwrote the VLEC's construction with donations from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, agree that there are "some troubling variables" whenever attempting to launch Earth through the vacuum of space into a massive body of solid matter. Yet, they insist, the academic benefits of a planetary collision outweigh any risk of annihilating the Earth.

While the project remains controversial, physicists agreed in late November to reconvene and evaluate the risk factor of the project after a small-scale field test, during which the Very Large Earth Collider will be turned on at 10 percent capacity, catapulting Earth into the moon at only half the speed of light.

Yet, they insist, the academic benefits of a planetary collision outweigh any risk of annihilating the Earth.

Large Earth Collider, haha.

hee!

Yeah, it's based under the biggest pub in Ireland. No risk there

"catapulting Earth into the moon at only half the speed of light." OH THATS WAY COOL! At half the speed of light we might actually have time to take a pic or 2 and get them posted online before we all crash and burn. I'll keep my QuickShot handy.

I love how we fear shit hitting and crashing into us (e.g. meteors), yet have no fear of us crashing into other things (the moon). As long as we consciously decide upon our own destruction, so be it!