Small clue here too, maybe more subtle:

> explained school director, Rosalina Pfirsich, looking up from her storybook

Pfirsich in German means Peach, as in Princess Peach :D

There is also ”project leader Mario Idraulico”

Also "project leader Mario Idraulico" (i.e. "hydraulic" in Italian) or "Safety coordinator Luigi Fratello" ("Brother Luigi").

Also the schoolteacher Yoshi Kyouryuu which apparently is the dinosaur.

The noun “idraulico” also means “plumber”.

They’ve also got:

> schoolteacher Yoshi Kyouryuu, mid-way through painting spots on eggs

You somehow identified the last possible, most obscure clue. Mario, Luigi, Rosalina, and Yoshi show up before that.

Man I fell for it until I saw your post. In fact, I was just about to post what the man's name means in Italian.

I was even going to point out how ironic it is that the mans first name and last name fit together so well.

In my defense I only got as far as idraulico and missed the "Mamma mia, they're super!"

ah! got me too!

For me it was easier. While I forgot it was first april, the image was too outrageous. Looked like AI-generated slop.

They may have had more success with another image. AI slop made us lazy.

IMO a made up "artist conception" picture on an article like this would have been perfectly appropriate, we've seen worse (think of the whole NEOM thingy).

I read the title and thought CERN + Mario Kart and am giggling.

Someone was saying "can we just not with April fools" this year because everything is so grim and dire in the world... but I think this is such a perfect level we need. I could go for more whimsy like this.

I'd of said I had limited appetite for April fools gubbins this year too but this still made me smile :)

This one was good. It was pretty low-stakes and not anything that would impact anyone. For a while there, companies like Google were announcing products that sounded like a good idea, but turned out were just them trolling everyone over things people had been requesting for a long time.

Their heyday of good jokes was also when they hadn't produced any ads and seemed like an underdog. "Don't Be Evil" days.

Vibe-wise they all feel closer to Raytheon and I sure as fuck wouldn't want to see an attempt at a whimsical joke from Raytheon.

Also the hat and mustache of the kart driver.