In the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, three gold, silver and bronze winners came to the stage to receive the awards, among which the gold medalist (middle) bit the gold medal. (Photo credit: Tim de Waele/Getty Images)
[Look at China News on July 28, 2021]Have you noticed?a lot ofOlympic gold medalistAfter winning, they will be excitedgold medalTake a bite in your mouth. Do you know why?
The Olympic gold medal is not actually a gold medal
At the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, an American swimmer excitedly put the gold medal in his mouth after winning the prize and became the first person to “eat” the gold medal! Since then, we have seen Olympic champions bite the gold medal in every Olympics. Some people think that this swimmer is to test the gold content of the gold medal, but he said in an interview that this action is just a rather exciting and subconscious behavior.
In fact, many Olympic gold medals are not all made of pure gold. In fact, many gold medals contain less than 10% of gold vehicles, and most of the remaining 90% are actually silver.
According to the relevant regulations of the International Olympic Committee, the weight of gold contained in a gold medal shall not be less than 6 grams, which means that as long as there are 6 grams of gold in the gold medal, even if it is qualified, the remaining materials can be handled by yourself.
Why is the gold medal not 100% pure gold? First of all, if pure gold, the production cost is too high. The weight of an Olympic gold medal is generally about 500 grams. According to the Chinese gold price of 487 yuan per gram on July 27, the cost of a gold medal is about 243,500 yuan. How can the Olympic Committee afford such a high gold medal cost?
Secondly, as everyone knows, the hardness of gold is not high. If it is made of pure gold, the gold medal is easy to deform.
Looking back at the 100-year history of the Olympics, each gold medal or medal has its own personality. In fact, the value of each gold medal does not lie in its quantifiable monetary value, but in its infinite emotion and immeasurable sports value.
Japan’s Olympic gold medal is the most environmentally friendly
Did you know that the raw materials for the Japanese Olympic gold medals are extracted from recycled electronic waste?
As early as 2017, for the Tokyo Olympics, Japan began to collect garbage in its own country in 2017, such as old mobile phones, old computers, old refrigerators, and old washing machines. In May 2017, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government of Japan also held a commemorative event in the government building for the recycling of scrap metal used for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic medals to exceed 30,000 pieces. At the commemorative event, Kyoto Governor Yuriko Koike said in a speech: “In order to make the Tokyo Olympics an Olympics for everyone, I would like everyone to cooperate in the future. Not only that, but also to show the environmentally developed cities of Tokyo and Japan to the world.” Two civic representatives including Noriichi Tanabe, an employee of the Yokohama City company contributed by the mobile phone, also received gifts related to the Tokyo Olympics.
It is understood that Japan eventually extracted 32 kilograms of gold, 3.5 tons of silver and 2.2 tons of brass from nearly 100,000 tons of electronic recycling to make 5,000 Olympic and Paralympic “environmental protection medals.” Earlier, Zhixueguan University in Aichi Prefecture, Obu City, Aichi Prefecture, and Japan Renet Recycling Company jointly launched a plan called “2020 Gold Rush”.
The most expensive Olympic Games in Sweden in 1912
In 1912, the 5th Summer Olympic Games was held in Stockholm, Sweden. 28 countries and regions were invited to participate in the Games. In addition to the four continents of Europe, America, Africa and Australia, Japan in Asia sent two athletes to participate for the first time. Therefore, in the official Olympic Games, a gathering of athletes from the five continents of the world was truly realized.
The front of this year’s medal depicts the scene of two women wearing laurel wreaths for a young Olympic champion. On the back of the medal is the scene of the notifying officer announcing the opening of the Olympics. It is especially worth mentioning that the gold medal in the 1912 Stockholm Olympics was pure gold, which became the “only” in the history of the Olympics. After that, most of the gold medals were made of silver-plated gold.
Rio 2016 Olympic medals are the most embarrassing
The 31st Summer Olympic Games was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 2016. Rio became the first South American city to host the Summer Olympics. The event is also the first Summer Olympics to be held by a Portuguese-speaking country and the first to be held entirely during the winter of the host country.
However, there is a small episode in this South American Olympic Games. Nine months after the closing ceremony, an embarrassing event came to the door-hundreds of Olympic medals were actually rusted!
The British “Daily Mail” reported that Mario Andrada, spokesperson for the Brazilian Olympic Organizing Committee, confirmed that at least 130 medals were returned due to rust or black spots. Most of these problem medals are bronze medals, including Paralympic medals. He said, “The most common problem is that medals are dropped and impacted or handled indiscriminately, causing the varnish to fall off, and the damaged parts are rusted or blacked. Secondly, there are a few, about 10, which are damaged by extreme cold weather.”
Andrada considered these problems “completely normal” and said that the Brazilian Mint was able to fix any defects and return the property to its original owner.
Editor in charge: Feifei
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