About This Quiz
Sure, the Summer and Winter Olympic Games each happen only every four years. But you can brush up on your Olympic knowledge anytime you like with this Olympics quiz. See if you can go for the gold!Only Seiko and Omega create timepieces precise enough to be used in Olympic games.
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The Olympic torch is lit at the ancient Temple of Hera in Olympia.
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Bell engineer Bill Suitor wowed the crowds in Los Angeles Memorial Colesium when he ferried in on a jet pack during the 1984 games.
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China shot cannons packed with silver iodide into the skies to impregnate clouds, causing them to rain. This helped ensure good weather and less air pollution for the 2008 games.
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Up to 4,000 children in China were named for one of the five 2008 Olympic mascots. Creative parents could choose from Bei Bei the fish, Jing Joing the panda, Huan Huan the Olympic Flame, Ying Ying the Tibetan antelope and Ni Ni the swallow.
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Pole vaulting originated in 19th-century Europe, where people crossed city canals using long poles.
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In fencing, the sword used in matches is called a foil. Other types called sabres and epees can also be used.
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White-water canoe racing, also called slalom canoeing, was added as an Olympic event in 1972. Table tennis made its debut in 1988; rhythmic gymnastics debuted in 1984.
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Sprinter Ben Johnson was stripped of his gold medal after a drug test came back positive for anabolic steroid use in the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
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Jim Thorpe won gold in the decathalon and pentahalon events in the 1912 Olympics. King Gustav of Sweden declared to Thorpe: "You, sir, are the greatest athlete in the world." Thorpe replied, "Thanks, King."
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