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A gold medal has been awarded to the top Olympic athlete in an event since the 1904 St. Louis Summer Olympics. Although this tradition has stuck, many things have changed since the St. Louis games.

I hadn’t planned on writing much about the St. Louis Olympics, but some of the research proved too bizarre to hold back. For starters, the games were supposed to be in Chicago; but, the World Fair organizers in St. Louis promised to hold their own sporting event that would eclipse the Olympic games, unless they were awarded the games. So, the games were awarded to St. Louis.

During the marathon, Frederick Lorz dropped out of the race after nine miles and rode a car back to the start/finish to collect his clothes. But, the car broke down so he had to run the rest of the way. When officials thought he was the first to finish, he played along but was later found out and was banned for a year. He won the Boston Marathon the following year.

The actual winner of the marathon, Thomas Hicks, had a bit of help from his trainers who gave him a mix of brandy and strychnine sulfate — a common rat poison which would “stimulate” the nervous system in small doses. Another runner, cuban postman Felix Carbajal, rested in an Apple orchard where he snacked on rotten apples. He ended up taking a nap but still finished in fourth place.

The first two Africans to compete in the Olympics did so by chance. They also ran the marathon, although they were actually in town as part of the Boer War exhibit in the World Fair. They finished ninth and twelfth, although many were disappointed in the ninth place finish by Len Tau. Many believed he could have done better if he wasn’t chased a mile off course by dogs.

The games officially lasted four months, but most of the events took place over a six day period. Since the World Fair was in the same city at the same time, the Olympics were almost a sideshow to the fair. This, combined with the fact that the games were so poorly organized, nearly made St. Louis the last Olympics. 108 years later, the tables have turned. The World Fair is not widely talked about, but it still exists: Expo 2012 wraps up on August 12th in Yeosu, South Korea.

South Korea is not shy of the Olympics though, they hosted the games in 1988. They picked up 13 gold medals four years ago in Beijing and will likely bring some back from London too. So, lets find out what it’s worth.

Each of the 2012 London gold medals weigh in at approximately 400 grams. While it looks like solid gold, atomic element 79 only makes up 1.34% of the medal. The rest of the gold medal is 92.5% silver and 6.16% copper. This is pretty typical.

The International Olympic Committee requires that gold medals contain at least 6 grams of gold and a minimum of 92.5% silver. The silver medal must also contain a minimum of 92.5% silver.

Two years ago, Vancouver’s Olympic gold was 575 grams. Although much heavier than London’s, this year’s medals are actually the most costly ever awarded due to the high price of gold.

In fact, gold prices have significantly increased the cost and value of recent olympic medals. In 2004, an Athen’s gold medal was worth about $155 in raw materials. Beijing’s 2008 gold contents were worth about $393. Vancouver’s came in around $508 and London’s gold medals could be melted down to about $728 worth of gold and silver (approx $334 in gold + $394 silver).

But, don’t expect to find one at your local pawn shop. Because of their rarity, symbolic and sentimental significance they are worth far more than their weight in gold (and silver). Olympic medals are rarely ever sold, but it does happen. In 2004, a Polish athlete auctioned her gold medal for charity, which fetched $82,599 for children with leukemia.

Chad Upton is the editor-in-chief of Broken Secrets and an official Yahoo Answers contributor.

Thanks for reading,

Sources: London 2012, Yahoo! Sports, The Telegraph, wikipedia (1904 Olympics)

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Hey Guys,

The Summer Olympics are about to get under way in London, and Yahoo! Sports will be there covering the festivities 24/7. Of course, the Olympic Rings will be front and center throughout. Folks may find themselves wondering if the five intertwined rings have any significance. Short answer — yep, they do.

According to Mental Floss, the rings were created by French educator Pierre de Frédy, Baron de Coubertin, also known as the father of the Modern Olympic Games.

The interlocked rings symbolize, in Coubertin’s words in 1931, “the five inhabited continents of the world, united by Olympism.” For Coubertin’s purposes, the five continents were the Americas (both North and South), Europe, Asia, Africa, and Oceania.

According to The New York Times, some historians believe Baron Coubertin was inspired by an ad for Dunlop bicycle tires. “The baron had been perusing a magazine illustrated with five bicycle tires at around the same time that he invented his design, according to the historian Karl Lennantz.”

A popular myth is that the different colors of the rings represent a different continent. Not true. The colors (black, green, blue, red, yellow) were chosen because they were the most commonly occurring colors on national flags. Also not true — that the rings were originally used during the ancient Olympic Games in Greece. The symbol is relatively modern.

No doubt about it — the rings are one of the most recognized symbols on the planet. Just be careful about using the symbol without permission from the International Olympic Committee.

Got an event you’re most looking forward to watching at the Games? Sound off below.

Thanks for reading,

Mike

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It’s been a scorching hot summer so far and we know in only a few short months it will be cold again, so we shouldn’t be complaining about the heat.  You’re thirsty, sweaty and sticky, and the slightest irritation makes you fly into a rage.

Why does the hot weather sometimes make us get more stressed out and angry?  Well, according to a new study, that reaction is normal when it’s hot out.  Nancy Molitor, an assistant professor of clinical psychiatry and behavioral science at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine says “many people feel a little hotheaded when the mercury rises. In fact, hot and especially humid weather is known to be associated with increases in aggression and violence, as well as a lower general mood.”

The lazy hazy days of summer are great when you’re not doing anything strenuous and just lying by the pool relaxing.  But when you’re stuck in traffic, doing chores in sweltering house and running around town to do errands it can literally make you blow steam.

If you’ve noticed that your temper is reaching the boiling point, it’s the heat causing you to lose your cool.   So, what are you doing to keep cool this summer?  Please leave a comment below.

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Hey Guys,

When a man dies and can’t be identified, police refer to him as a “John Doe.” Similarly, when an unidentified woman is found dead, she is called “Jane Doe.” Here’s why.

The Word Detective, an old school site from columnist Evan Morris, has the answer. Morris explains that the term dates back to the reign of England’s King Edward III. Back then, there was a legal debate going on about the Acts of Ejectment.

The debate had to do with a hypothetical landowner dubbed “John Doe” who rents property to “Richard Roe,” who then attempts to evict Doe from his own land. According to Morris, the debate was a “hallmark of legal theory.” The moniker John Doe became well known, both in and outside legal circles. Over the years, the name “John Doe” became synonymous with an unknown or unnamed person.

But let’s say there is more than one unidentified person involved in a case. What do we call the other people? Subsequent males are called “Richard Roe” and “John Stiles.” If there are two unknown females, the first is Jane Doe, and the second is Mary Major. In Roe vs. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court case on the legality of abortions, “Jane Roe” was a combination of “Jane Doe” and “Richard Roe.” The plaintiff’s real name was Norma McCorvey.

Thanks for reading,

Mike

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It’s a milestone that should be celebrated: In June, we hit 300,000,000 questions asked on Yahoo! Answers! And for those of you, who cannot wrap their heads around all those zeros, we’re happy to repeat in words: Globally, 300 million times people have been asking for help, advice, and facts on our amazing questions and answers portal.

And our statistics reveal further interesting numbers:

On average, 2 questions are being asked and 6 answered per second. So this means there’s an astonishing 7,000 questions and an incredible 21,000 answers per hour. Wow!

The question that has been answered the most globally is the following one from the US: Which question would you like to ask the President of the United States Barack Obama? The question received a stunning 41,130 answers!

In the US, the most answered question (from a community member) was from Jack and he asked What will you remember most about Michael Jackson? It received 6407 answers!

In the UK, the most answered question (from a community member) was from Amanda R and she asked Why is it that some people seem to have it really easy in life and have good things happen to them?

We want to thank you for your trust, your loyalty, and your interest! And of course, we are excitedly looking forward to your next 100 million questions!

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