Overview

CERN Portal To Another Dimension or Large Hadron Collider Interdimensional Gateway refers to a conspiracy theory widely circulated in summer 2022 that CERN, a European astrophysics lab, would produce a portal to another dimension or hell as a result of experiments with the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). Following news that the LHC would be activated after a hiatus, memes, videos and discussions appeared around July 4th that year where people joked that users needed to take precautions in preparation for the portal opening, such as not drinking alcohol. Though some earnestly spread the conspiracy, many merely referenced it for humorous purposes.

Background

CERN, or European Organization for Nuclear Research, runs the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) located on the border of France and Switzerland. Experiments conducted at the LHC have yielded insights into the structure of atoms and the traits of subatomic particles. The organization was established in 1954 as a cooperative international and European research organization concentrating on atomic physics. Scientists from different European nations worked together to advance scientific knowledge on the continent as a whole and boost European research so it could rival Soviet and American scientific research.^[1] In 1989, Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web while working at CERN, and the first web pages were tied to the lab.^[2]

The Large Hadron Collider started its first experimental run on September 10th, 2008. Located in a circular tunnel stretching over 27 kilometers in circumference beneath the Franco-Swiss border near Geneva, Switzerland, the LHC is designed to shoot particle beams of protons at an ultra-high velocity and watch them collide, observing what happens.^[3]

The accelerator is used to test the predictions of different theories in particle physics and high-energy physics. Scientists running experiments in the LHC in 2012 famously discovered the Higgs Boson or "god particle," which gives matter mass and holds the universe together.^[4]

After a three-year hiatus for repairs and improvements, it was announced that the LHC would be fired up for its third run of experiments on July 5th, 2022. This latest run will last until 2025. During the first few days of its third round, the lab claimed to have discovered up to three new "exotic particles" during the first few days of its tests. According to CERN, the new particles offer insight into the forces that bind atoms together.^[5]

Today we start #LHCRun3 🎉🍾What do you know about the four biggest experiments ATLASexperiment</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/CMSExperiment?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">CMSExperiment, ALICEexperiment</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/LHCbExperiment?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">LHCbExperiment at the Large Hadron Collider? Find out more from these “Top Detectors” cards from @STFC_Matters.#TopTrumps #CERNtrivia pic.twitter.com/4hf5pHZ3sy

— CERN (@CERN) July 5, 2022

LHC Black Hole and Wormhole Theories

Early on during the months leading up to the public unveiling of the LHC in 2008, the project gained significant attention from the media for its costly budget. Outside of the scientific community, however, news of the LHC project also generated significant anxiety, as some particle physicists stated that a particle collision event could theoretically create tiny black holes that might destroy the Earth.

This theoretical risk resulted in many online forming conspiracy theories around the LHC, such as it supposedly opening an interdimensional gateway or portal. In February 2008, Misunderstood Universe released a CGI simulation footage of the Earth imploding as a result of a suddenly created black hole by the LHC (seen below).

Online Reactions

Ahead of the July 5th, 2022, reactivation of the LHC, CERN became the subject of many posts and renewed conspiracies speculating about the possible reality-bending effects of its experiments.

Online, news of the LHC's third run and the alignment of it beginning with the July 4th holiday in the U.S. spurred memes, conspiracy theories and commentary about possible supernatural or extra-dimensional goings-on during that time. Some also interpreted the timing of the experiment as an attack against America.

One refrain, in particular, picked up steam. Many posters called (perhaps jokingly) on others to abstain from drinking on the Fourth of July holiday in order to keep their "energy vibrations high" and counteract any supposed disturbance produced by the activation of the LHC. Tweets, such as a June 30th, 2022, composition from Twitter user @zinastar, which earned almost 5,500 likes over the course of a week, cautioned users to avoid alcohol on the holiday (seen below).^[6]

A July 3rd TikTok video set to the Stranger Things theme music posted by user rxzesko (seen below) encouraged viewers to abstain from drugs or drinking and take a chance to "manifest" their future while the portal to another world was open, earning over 265,000 likes in four days.

On July 5th, Twitter user @JUNIPER connected the events at the Hadron Collider with the widespread interest in Minions at the time due to the release of the film The Rise of Gru, earning almost 3,500 likes over the course of a day (seen below).^[7]

Other jokes trended towards more general results of LHC, alleging the CERN experiments would alter reality with humorous consequences. Twitter user @sorry_hat tweeted a July 5th meme of possible CERN consequences, gaining over 4,100 likes in less than 24 hours (seen below).^[8]

All the discussion of demons led some users to imagine battles between demons and humans following a supposed CERN-triggered opening of a portal or transfer to an alternate timeline, many including images of Doomguy. Twitter user @napoleonidas1 tweeted about this possible scenario on July 5th with an image from Doom, receiving almost 4,500 likes in less than a day (seen below).^[9]

Related Memes

Chic-fil-A Mandela Effect

Following the July 5th reactivation of the Large Hadron Collider, memes circulated of users claiming the spelling of "Chick-fil-A," the American fried chicken sandwich restaurant, had changed. Many users seemed to remember the chain's name spelled without a "k," and attributed the sudden change to the so-called "Mandela effect" in which unreliable or false memories emerge.

Twitter user @ChrisLoHeadBrown posted (seen below) about the purported name change on July 7th, receiving over 100 likes in 12 hours.^[10]

Search Interest

Various Examples

External References