The fantastic four

I had ready a post on the absurd circumstances of the death of Pepe the hippo, and a sort of reflection on the stupidity some "noble" causes inadvertently convey. Yes, the post was boring. But then I found something funnier to write about. Consider the University of Bologna, a respectable institution, founded in 1088, or as WikiPedia would say, "the oldest continually operating degree-granting university in the world." Now consider the picture below, part of the latest publicity campaign the University released so as to attract students to the campuses of Rimini, Cesena, Ravenna, and Forli:

I always liked Ravenna and Rimini :-)

I really don't know what was the purpose of this publicity, entitled "the fantastic four." And it's not difficult to imagine the controversy (and embarrassment) it caused in Bologna and in Italy at large. Naturally, the ads didn't last long, but the damage was already done. I could write many posts on how critical the situation in Italy is, at every level. I choose not to do it. When one of the most respected Universities in the world chooses to attract students in this way, a picture is worth a thousand words.

If you want to read more about this, click here (in Italian).