i have a question...

Friday, August 22, 2008

Mysteries of the Olympics (first Boston edition!)

I've been watching the Olympics mostly because nothing much else has been on in these last days of summer. I've been given pause several times in the last week or so by what I believe are striking and strange phenomena connected to the games.

1. In the timeline of one's life, at what point does one discover talent in something like pole-vaulting?
2. What are those little towely chamois things that the divers cling to and wring out once they're out of the pool?
3a. Is Michael Phelps part fish?
3b. Is Usain Bolt part cheetah?
4. Why did that Chinese gymnast get a medal in vault when the American gymnast didn't even touch her knees to the mat?
6. How did the USA women's volleyball team manage to win a gold medal in pouring rain while wearing white bikinis and not look like they were just competing in a wet T-shirt contest?
7. Didn't the minimum age of Olympic athletes used to be older than pre-pubescent (see diver Thomas Daley of Great Britain and the Chinese women's gymnastics team)?
8. How come gymnasts are the only people in the world allowed to wear scrunchies?

1 comment:

Ana said...

The diver towels are called shammies! and they become a part of you when you are a diver:) They help dry you off before a big twisty flippy dive so that your hands don't slip off of your legs. Even if you don't need it you use it as part of a diver ritual:)