Did you know?
The Olympic rings were designed in 1913. Their designer said that the five ring colours, together with the white background, could show the colours of every country's flag in the world!
Olympic pictograms, small picture signs showing each sport, first appeared at the London Olympics in 1948. They help visitors find their way, whatever language they speak.
Oscar Swahn of Sweden won an Olympic shooting medal in 1920, when he was 72 years old! He is still the oldest person ever to win an Olympic medal in a sport.
Try this: Design Sports Pictograms
Olympic pictograms show each sport with a simple figure and no words. Design pictograms for three sports, such as kabaddi, kho-kho and badminton. Use only stick figures, circles and lines, in a single colour. Show them to your family without saying anything. Can they guess every sport? Which drawing was the easiest to understand, and why?
Go further: Why 42.195 km?
At the 1908 London Olympics, the marathon began at Windsor Castle and finished in front of the royal box in the stadium. That course measured 42.195 km. In 1921, this unusual distance became the official length of every marathon! Today, course measurers make sure a race is never too short: they may add up to 1 extra metre for every kilometre. So how much extra could a whole marathon have? (About 42 metres!)