National Instruments does this every April 1. This is their spoof release for this year.
http://www.ni.com/news/releases/april0801.htm
Elementary Students Use NI LabVIEW to Model Impact of Simultaneous Trigger of Rapid Flow Events
A Private Research Institute Lauds Future Opportunities Over Lavatory Study
Austin, Texas – April 1, 2008 – Today, at 4:01 p.m. CDT, students from Sidd Finch Elementary will conduct a study on the impact of increasing flow rates in plumbing systems – and they need your help. The students have leveraged LabVIEW software to create both a dynamic model that simulates the system as well as a real-time measurement system for today's field trial. The students will present their results in front of a blue-ribbon panel of professors and researchers at the O. Welles Research Institute.
"At the start of the school year, I led a brainstorming session in my science class to determine some of the most common questions asked by 8- to 10-year-olds," said Mrs. Sue Urpipe, a teacher at Sidd Finch Elementary School. "While many of the students were interested in studying how the Earth's rotation would be affected if everyone in China jumped up at the same time, we eventually settled on analyzing the implications of everyone in the LabVIEW community flushing their toilets at the same time."
The local community in is getting involved, too. The Chapel of the Porcelain God is holding a bake sale to raise money for the experiment, and members ask citizens to donate money to the cause. "We've got plenty of baked goods donated at this point. In loo of baked goods, we'd really appreciate money," mud-pie baking contest winner, Cam Ode, requested of the community.
"With our continued commitment to engineering education, I was glad that our products could help these future engineers and scientists with their experiment," said Ray Almgren, National Instruments vice president for Academic Relations. "Kids are continually coming up with creative ways to use LabVIEW."
Based on their experience using the LabVIEW graphical environment with the LEGO® MINDSTORMS® NXT robotics system, the students are quite excited to use LabVIEW for their research. The students ask that all NI employees who work on LabVIEW, customers and enthusiasts flush their toilets today at 4:01 p.m. CDT. Background information on how you can participate in the study is available here.
More information on Sidd Finch Elementary is available here.
More information on the O. Welles Research Institute is available here.
More information on April 1 is available here.
About National Instruments
National Instruments (www.ni.com) is transforming the way engineers and scientists design, prototype and deploy systems for measurement, automation and embedded applications. The company is run by people with well-developed senses of humor who would not punish the content team for a once-per-year bit of tomfoolery – April Fools! NI empowers customers with off-the-shelf software such as NI LabVIEW and modular cost-effective hardware, and sells to a broad base of more than 25,000 different companies worldwide, with no one customer representing more than 3 percent of revenue and no one industry representing more than 10 percent of revenue. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, NI has more than 4,600 employees and direct operations in nearly 40 countries. For the past nine years, FORTUNE magazine has named NI one of the 100 best companies to work for in America. Readers can obtain investment information from the company's investor relations department by calling (512) 683-5090, e-mailing [email protected] or visiting www.ni.com/nati.
Previous Links
National Instruments Re-Releases LabVIEW 2.0 (April 2007)
National Instruments Announces Plans for 'Engineer Barbie' (April 2006)
Use LabVIEW Graphical Programming to Complete Your Tax Return (April 2005)
National Instruments Releases LabVIEW 7 Espresso (April 2004)
New PXI Module Transfers Engineering Knowledge into Marketing Brains (April 2003)
New eIeI/O Software Suite Introduces eFarming (April 2002)
President Bush Nominates Jeff Kodosky to Cabinet Post (April 2001)
New MXI Interface Kit for Palm Pilot IIIc (April 2000)
Spousal Acquisition Toolkit Version 2.0 -- Now Featuring Undo! (April 1999)
National Instruments Announces PC-Based Solution for Matrimonially Inept (April 1998)
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