Reason behind the Olympians ‘Medal-biting’ Habit
Scores of Olympians have been photographed doing what seems to be a prevailing Olympian habit: medal biting. This practice is not a product of this generation's 21st century quirks because it has been recorded that the 1991 Great Britain track and field team also did this unusual Olympic tradition.
And, you're not the only one asking why because the fact that this habit is evidenced by countless photographs of the Olympics is enough to raise eyebrows on whether there might be something going on with the champions and participants that we don't know of.
The answer is not that shady. One speculation is that we can actually trace its history to the Gold Rush.
In order to test whether the material is real gold, the quickest way is to sink your teeth in it.
Those materials which are relatively made of pure gold will be softer so they wouldn't hurt your teeth.
The fact that today's Olympic medals are not made of solid gold might be a disappointment to the champions but it's worth the effort because majority of its contents is sterling silver.
It's unfortunate that the Olympics' committee stopped giving real gold since 1912. Today's gold medals are only made up of 1.2% gold.
Another proposed explanation for medal biting habit is the photographers' wishes to make the shots more interesting.
It may have actually served its purpose because it adds light to the Olympians' face - with the gold illuminating their faces.
David Wallechinsky, the president of the International Society of Olympic Historians explained to CNN that "It's become an obsession with the photographers. I think they look at it as an iconic shot, as something that you can probably sell. I don't think it's something that athletes would probably do on their own."
Well one thing's for sure. We will be seeing more of these "iconic shots" in the near future.