Hadron Collider urinal cake tale wins El Reg's LHC book giveaway

'My daughter is impressed and my mother is happy' says successful scribe

Compo Entrants to our soaraway somewhat-Hadron-Collider-themed writing competition have been biting their nails all week, desperate to know who has scooped the awesome "Large Hadron Collider Pop-Up Book: Voyage to the Heart of the Matter" prize. But now, their wait is over.

The Reg can announce that the winner of a gleaming free copy – and the envy and admiration of many millions of Reg readers, all their friends etc – is none other than Richard Hutchison, author of the haunting "Transformation of Edwin".

Reg readers were transported by the tale of the lowly urinal cake - they laughed, they cried, they were moved to vote in the poll - and the story won by a landslide 118 votes. Readers' second-favourite story about a fictional hero (or villain) of the Large Hadron Collider was Jim Beck's "Shadowman", which won 79 votes.

Edwin's humble origin story was so loved, it inspired one reader to pen the following ode to its genius:

Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin! Edwin!

While another expressed their empathy and solidarity with the urinal cake thusly:

Edwin for the win - Because I too never understood why people play tennis.

Meanwhile, the man of the hour accepted his accolade with humble grace, saying:

Finding out that The Reg picked "The Transformation of Edwin" as one of the finalists was a pleasant surprise, it was an honor just making it into the subtitle. I'm glad so many others enjoyed the story and would like to thank everyone who voted for it.

My wife isn't quite sure what to think, my daughter is impressed and my mother is happy that I finally put the two concussions from my childhood to good use! Telling my coworkers about the contest may have been a mistake as this has more firmly cemented the idea that I am thoroughly nuts in the minds of several engineers. On second thought, that may be a good thing...

Congratulations Richard. Your Hadron Collider pop-up book is on its way. ®