The E-Sylum:  Volume 9, Number 8, February 19, 2006, Article 11

MORE ON THE 2006 OLYMPIC MEDAL

Fred Schwan writes: "At one time I collected Olympic medals
--winners and participation.  This brings up the question
of the Torino participation medals. Has anyone seen these yet?
Next, how many versions of the medal are there? What a nightmare.
It is difficult enough getting a medal for each Olympics,
getting one from each venue will be nigh impossible."

Pete Smith writes: "When I first saw the current Olympic gold
medal, I thought it looked like a CD hanging from the neck.

One good thing about medallic art is that it changes to reflect
the art of the times. One bad thing about medallic art is that it
changes to reflect the art of the times. I think there have been
some very good and creative medals produced in the past fifty
years. I also think there has been a lot of junk produced. So
far, I am not impressed with the 2006 Olympic medal."

[Until the other morning I hadn't seen any of the medals as
worn by an athlete, and they are much larger than I imagined.
And depending on the size of the athlete, the medal may not end
up laying over the wearer's heart as hoped by the medal's designer.
The one I saw looked more like an oversized belly-button ring...
-Editor]

Gar Travis forwarded a link to an article with an illustration
of the medal's lettered edge.

Full Story

And in the pop culture department, late-night talk show host
David Letterman parodied the medals in his "Top Ten" list for
February 15th with the "Top Ten Good Things About Winning A
Gold Medal" (Presented By Olympic Gold Medal Winning Speed
Skater, Chad Hedrick).  For example:

#10. It holds 10,000 songs
#7. It's accepted as a one hundred dollar chip at any Trump casino
#5. Makes one kick-a** belt buckle
#4. It's the perfect counterpart to my 8th grade chess trophy
#1. It deflects stray gunshots from Dick Cheney

To read the complete list, see: Full Story

  Wayne Homren, Editor

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