The London Olympics will start tomorrow. The athletes have worked hard with the goal being to win an Olympic medal. Here are a few interesting facts about the medals that'll be given out at the London games...
1.The gold medals weigh 410 grams, or just under a pound. Of the 410 grams, the medal only has 6 grams of actual gold! So what's the gold medal made of? 92.5% of it is silver, if you can believe that.
2. If you win the silver medal, you're getting actual silver. Again, about 92.5% of the silver medal is actual silver.
3. The bronze medal is also made of bronze, a mixture of copper, zinc, and tin.
4. There will be 4,700 medals given out at both the Olympics and Paralympic games. Until they are given out to the athletes, the medals will be guarded in the same area as Britain's crown jewels in the Tower of London.
5. The medals are the heaviest ever for a Summer Olympics. Only the medals at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics were heavier. Those weighed 576 grams compared to the 410 gram weight of the London Olympic medals.
So now, when you watch the medals awarded, you've got the inside story...
Will Johnson
[photo courtesy of Fighting Irish 1977]
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