# Highschool team beats M.I.T in robotics comeptition **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 4, 2005, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highschool-team-beats-m-i-t-in-robotics-comeptition/297629 "2005-04-04T06:37:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Gavroche](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7c8e57/32.png) [@Gavroche](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gavroche)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2005, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highschool-team-beats-m-i-t-in-robotics-comeptition/297629/1 "2005-04-04T06:37:29Z")
this is the best story I have read in a while; illegal aliens from Carl Hayden Community High School enter an underewater robotics competition with an $800 budget, summarily kick the crap out of MIT’s $11,000 robot (and everyone else’s). > **[La Vida Robot](https://www.wired.com/2005/04/la-vida-robot/)** > > How four underdogs from the mean streets of Phoenix took on the best from M.I.T. in the national underwater bot championship. ---
**Author:** ![Penchan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/74df32/32.png) [@Penchan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penchan)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2005, 8:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highschool-team-beats-m-i-t-in-robotics-comeptition/297629/2 "2005-04-04T08:36:05Z")
Wow. This proves that illegal immigrants aren’t just welfare whores. Damn the administration and its demonizing of foreign people. I wish those guys had it easier though. After all that, and they have to go back to their less than stellar lives. It’s really sad. ---
**Author:** ![Anonymous\_Coward](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/94ad74/32.png) [@Anonymous\_Coward](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anonymous_Coward)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2005, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highschool-team-beats-m-i-t-in-robotics-comeptition/297629/3 "2005-04-04T13:28:32Z")
Thanks for the link. What a great article! ---
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2005, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highschool-team-beats-m-i-t-in-robotics-comeptition/297629/4 "2005-04-04T13:56:41Z")
That is a lovely story. Well done, those guys. Good teachers too. I really hope the kids can get to go on to college and university somehow. ---
**Author:** ![The\_King\_of\_Soup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@The\_King\_of\_Soup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_King_of_Soup)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2005, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highschool-team-beats-m-i-t-in-robotics-comeptition/297629/5 "2005-04-04T14:12:56Z")
Happy story, sad ending, at least for now. ---
**Author:** ![JeffB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeffb/32/188_2.png) [@JeffB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JeffB)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2005, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highschool-team-beats-m-i-t-in-robotics-comeptition/297629/6 "2005-04-04T15:51:25Z")
Great story – tell me this wouldn’t make a good movie. I hope things work out for the four. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2005, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highschool-team-beats-m-i-t-in-robotics-comeptition/297629/7 "2005-04-04T16:01:04Z")
Man, if I didn’t already have a kid in college, I’d do what I could to help one of those kids out. Where’s a philanthropist when you need one? ---
**Author:** ![grayhairedmomma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/47e85d/32.png) [@grayhairedmomma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grayhairedmomma)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2005, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highschool-team-beats-m-i-t-in-robotics-comeptition/297629/8 "2005-04-04T19:51:40Z")
> [@JeffB](#): > > Great story – tell me this wouldn’t make a good movie. I hope things work out for the four. Could they sell the story to a film producer and pay for college that way? ---
**Author:** ![Gavroche](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7c8e57/32.png) [@Gavroche](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gavroche)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2005, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highschool-team-beats-m-i-t-in-robotics-comeptition/297629/9 "2005-04-04T20:04:37Z")
you know, if you really wanted to help those kids, there is a link near the bottom of every page that says “La Vida Robot Scholorship Fund” which takes you to a place where you can send money via paypal or mail. ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2005, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highschool-team-beats-m-i-t-in-robotics-comeptition/297629/10 "2005-04-04T20:45:18Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > Where’s a philanthropist when you need one? Well. $20 anyway. I hope alot of people give a little. ---
**Author:** ![lizardling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f4b2a3/32.png) [@lizardling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lizardling)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2005, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highschool-team-beats-m-i-t-in-robotics-comeptition/297629/11 "2005-04-04T21:37:23Z")
That is seriously amazing and chokes me up. Thank you for the link. I’ve passed it on – let’s hope that people will donate enough for these awesome kids to all go to college. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2005, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highschool-team-beats-m-i-t-in-robotics-comeptition/297629/12 "2005-04-04T22:03:20Z")
> [@JeffB](#): > > Great story – tell me this wouldn’t make a good movie. No doubt. The tampon stuff is comedy gold. ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highschool-team-beats-m-i-t-in-robotics-comeptition/297629/13 "2005-04-05T03:23:48Z")
I for one welcome our new illegal alien underwater robot overlords. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2005, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highschool-team-beats-m-i-t-in-robotics-comeptition/297629/14 "2005-04-25T15:22:30Z")
[http://gringounleashed.typepad.com/gringo\_unleashed/2005/04/robot\_kids\_upda.html](http://gringounleashed.typepad.com/gringo_unleashed/2005/04/robot_kids_upda.html) Looks like the scholarship fund is going to help. And Warner Brothers has apparently agreed with JeffB.