This is exciting. The LHC’s first proton-proton collisions happened yesterday evening between two counter-circling packets of some 2 billion particles each. Though the beam energy was much lower than that optimal for searching for the Higgs or other exotica, real physics will be beginning soon. After some 3 decades of planning, 15 years of construction, and many billions of dollars, physicists have been rewarded. I, however, refuse to ever call this event “the first bang.”