UPDATE:  Solved by Hugo at 12:07 CDT

Are you ready for a quick riddle to get your neurons firing properly this fine Saturday?  I think I have a fun one ready for you… of course, I say that about all the riddles, right?

Anyway, grab that cup of caffeine, and direct your attention to events in the real world.  That’s where you’ll find the answer to this riddle.

The whole ball of wax

The “common name” for this was intended to be derogatory and belittling.

Although it seems like this idea been around a long time, it’s really very new.

Where else are you going to find quark-gluon soup?

boom

There are many interesting things going on when this event gets going, not the least is the temperature of about one billion kelvin.

This has never been a “sure thing”; there have always been detractors.

Where else but here would you find a flatness problem?

crunch

You can have a fine career arguing against this event; many have.

This is big.  In fact, it’s the biggest “big” around.

This works all the way back to the start of the process… where it doesn’t work.

“In the beginning…”

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And that’s that.  Good luck, and get your guesses in quick.  Remember, if you’ve already solved several riddles this cycle, but still want to play, you can email your guesses to me.  That way, if you solve the riddle it’ll still remain open for someone who hasn’t solved one yet to have a shot at it.