1. The first Summer Olympics was held in Athens, Greece in 1896, with 14 participating countries (see graphic above).
2. By 1900, the number of participating countries increased to 28 for Olympiad II, hosted by Paris, France.
3. The U.S. hosted the Summer Olympics for the first time in 1904, and it was held in St. Louis.
4. London hosted the Summer Olympics for the first time in 1908.
5. The 1916 Summer Olympics in Berlin was cancelled due to World War I, and the Summer Olympics in 1940 (scheduled in Tokyo) and 1944 (scheduled for London, re-scheduled for 1948) were cancelled due to WW II.
6. London is first city to host the Summer Olympic games three times (1908, 1948, 2012).
Lots of other Olympic trivia appears on the individual screens for each Summer Olympic event (you can stop the graph by clicking on the arrow on the right).
C'mon Greenland! Where you at!?
ReplyDeleteOh, never mind. I guess Greenland competes under the Denmark flag.
ReplyDeleteThe Olympics is the only time I become a rabid fan of sports I don't normally care about
ReplyDelete"The Olympics is the only time I become a rabid fan of sports I don't normally care about"...
ReplyDeleteWhy jm?
juandos asks:
ReplyDelete"Why jm"
Are you forgetting that Jon M. is a whippersnapper and must work for a living? That seriously interferes with his sports-enjoyment time. :)
"Are you forgetting that Jon M. is a whippersnapper and must work for a living?"...
ReplyDeleteOops! My bad ron h...:-)
That seriously interferes with his sports-enjoyment time. :)
ReplyDeleteNot really. I am a season ticket holder for the New Hampshire Fisher Cats (minor league affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays baseball team) and I've gone to all but 4 games.
My main point was, I will watch the Olympics all day long and root for USA all day. But if Men's Gymnastics is on tv in a non-Olympic setting, I could care less. Maybe it's just the competing for national glory thing.
Although I will watch woman's gymnastics if it's on TV. Not going to lie, Shawn Johnson is pretty cute.
"Although I will watch woman's gymnastics if it's on TV. Not going to lie, Shawn Johnson is pretty cute."
ReplyDeleteWow I'll say. The title of the picture is "Shawn Johnson Retires". That gymnastics business must have one helluva good benefits package. She doesn't appear to be anywhere near 60. :)
She doesn't appear to be anywhere near 60. :)
ReplyDeleteShe's 20. It's less weird when you consider I am just two years older than her :-P
"She's 20. It's less weird when you consider I am just two years older than her :-P"
ReplyDeleteAnd you're retiring also? Times sure have changed. Life is much better than it used to be.
So who are all these unemployed people? They should just retire. Problem solved.
And you're retiring also?
ReplyDeleteI wish, but no. I just bought a new car I gotta pay off!
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ReplyDelete