Strange Olympic Facts

Now that the 2008 Summer Olympics are in full swing I thought I would bring some unusual trivia about the Olympics to my blog.

The Medals:
No medals were awarded in the ancient Olympic games. A winer received an olive wreath on his head. The second and third place winners received nothing.
When the Olympics were revived in 1896 the top placed winer received a silver medal. On 1904 the top medal was changed to the gold.

The last time the gold medal was made entirely from gold was in 1912. Now the silver and gold medals are made of 92.5% silver, with the gold medal covered in 6 grams of gold.

Strange Olympic Events That No Longer Exist:
1. Rope Climb (1896-1932): Using only their hands, competitors try to see how fast they can get to the top of the rope.

2. Tug Of War (1900-1920): This events was just as it sounds. 8 men on each side pull a rope and force their opponents to their side.

3. Standing High Jump (1900-1912): Same as the traditional high jump, only without the running start.

4. Underwater Swimming (1900): A person was awarded points for how far and how long they could stay under water.

5. Live Pigeon Shooting (1900): Yes, you read this one right. A bunch of birds were released and a shooter would see how many birds he could kill before they flew away.

6. Plunge Diving (1904): From standing position a diver would see how far he could go without taking a stoke.

7. Dueling Pistols (1904): Shooters fired at mannequins with bull's eyes on their chest. At least they weren't real people like those poor birds.