Bite that Gold Medal!

I often see alot of medallists bite their medals after winning. Whether in the Olympic or any kind of sports that reward medals.

People once bit gold coins try to make an indent; a small tooth mark in a coin assured it consisted of real gold, which is more malleable than counterfeit gold-plated lead coins. We know that only in 1912 the gold medals were real gold and that in all later Olympics the gold medals were made from silver with a gilt layer to show it as being gold. These days, more than 90 percent of the award is silver. Melt the medal down and the raw materials are worth about US$645. If they were solid gold, given their dimensions and the current price of gold, they would be worth about US$45,000 (in the estimate of RM140,000 per piece!) Holy Cow! There are 302 Victory Ceremonies, so it can literally bankrupt a nation!

You can leave a mark in real gold. It’s softer than gold-plated lead. At some point an Olympian did this, and the tradition started.  Now, Olympians bite their medals because that’s what they’ve seen others do.

Medalists bite their medals because, at this point, it’s what winning Olympians do. Medal biting is more than Olympians simply acting like winners. It makes your medals yours. It’s an emotional connection with your accomplishment.

This year, the gold medal consists of 1.34%, or about 6 grams, of gold. The remainder is 93% silver and 6% copper.

So, will you bite your medal if you ever win one? I will surely do it because it makes the medal mine. ^_^

Cheers!

Source: www.london2012.com/medals/about/ & Wikipedia