16 Little-Known Secrets Behind Olympic Medals

Medals have wildly different perks in different nations

Any South Korean athlete who wins an Olympic medal, for example, becomes exempt from the country’s mandatory two-year military service for males aged 18 to 35.

Gold medals can still be valuable though

Ukrainian boxer Wladimir Klitschko auctioned his gold medal for a children’s charity in 1996. A buyer purchased it for $1 million—then immediately returned the medal out of respect to Klitschko and his family.

The strangest material to become an Olympic medal?

Probably a meteorite. Ten gold medals in the 2014 Sochi Games contained pieces of the massive meteor that exploded over Russia in February, 2013.

Ireland’s first Olympic medal was for painting

Jack Butler Yeats—brother of poet W.B. Yeats—won a silver medal for his oil canvas, The Liffy Swim, in 1924. He was vanquished by a Luxembourgian artist who submitted two paintings of rugby, which hardly seems fair.

Gold, silver, and bronze have a hidden meaning

Gold, silver, and bronze medals represent three of the five Ages of Man in Greek mythology. The Golden Age was a time when man and gods lived in harmony. The Silver Age saw man stray from piety, and the Bronze Age marks a period of war and violence. Supposedly we’re in the Iron Age now, but that’s all Greek to me.

For 76 years, Olympic medals were emblazoned with a big error

Beginning in 1928, the front of every gold, silver, and bronze medal showed an image of the Roman Colosseum, despite the Olympic games’ Greek roots. This blunder was finally called to attention in 2004, when it was replaced with Athens' Panathenaic Stadium.

The Rio 2016 medals will have unusual origins

Per the Games’ official website, “About 30 percent of the silver used in the new medals will be recycled waste from leftover mirrors, solder and X-ray plates. Bronze medals will be made with copper waste from the national mint.” Even the ribbons holding the medals will be woven with recycled plastic from old bottles.

10 Bloodiest Battles of World War II

10. Battle of Monte Cassino, 17 January–18 May 1944: 185,000 casualtiesWaged between the Allies and the joint German and Italian troops in the early part of 1944, the Battle of Monte Cassino was one of the hardest fought battles of the Second World War. The main objective for the Allied forces fighting their way up from Southern Italy was to break through the Germans’ Gustav Line — a series of military fortifications running across Italy — and gain control of Rome. Named after the 1,400-year-old monastery of Monte Cassino that stood at the center of the German defensive line (and which was controversially destroyed by American bombers during the battle), the fighting was made up of four smaller battles that took place in January, February, March and May, respectively. The eventual capture of Rome came at a high price, with at least 125,000 casualties on all sides — and as many as 185,000 by some estimates.
9. Battle of the Bulge, 16 December 1944–25 January 1945: 186,369 c…

The 10 most expensive cars in the world

10. $1.1 million - Rolls-Royce Phantom Serenity

Rolls-Royce Phantom Serenity is launched by Rolls-Royce Motor Cars in 2015 at the Geneva Motor Show.
The interiors of the Phantom Serenity is inspired by Japanese design made of hand woven silk fabric. The exterior is painted with Mother of pearl three stage pearl effect paint. Phantom Serenity build on Phantom series II will be fitted with direct injection V12 engine and 8 speed automatic gearbox.
Phantom Serenity is expected to cost at £1 million.

9. $1.15 million - McLaren P1

The McLaren P1 is a limited production plug-in hybrid sports car by British car manufacturer McLaren Automotive. The so-called hypercar and concept car was capable of reaching speeds of 218 mph (351 km/h) with the limiter on. Debuted at the 2012 Paris Motor Show all 375 models were soon snatched up. Deliveries to retail customers began in the UK in October 2013.The entire P1 production of 375 units was sold out by November 2013. The production run ended in…

Propaganda posters

I WANT YOU!

Originally published as the cover for the July 6, 1916, issue of Leslie’s Weekly with the title “What Are You Doing for Preparedness?” this portrait of “Uncle Sam” went on to become–according to its creator, James Montgomery Flagg–”the most famous poster in the world.” Over four million copies were printed between 1917 and 1918, as the United States entered World War I and began sending troops and material into war zones.

We Can Do It!

We Can Do It! is a WW II era American wartime propoganda poster produced by J. Howard Miller in 1943 for Westinghouse Electric as a tool to boost worker morale. Surprisingly, the poster did not enjoy wide popularity during World War II. It was rediscovered in the early 1980s and widely reproduced in many forms, often called “We Can Do It!” but also mistakenly called “Rosie the Riveter” after the iconic figure of a strong female war production worker. The “We Can Do It!” image was used to promote feminism and other political issue…

Facts

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