# Significance of "Birds Nest"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 20, 2008, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/significance-of-birds-nest/460631 "2008-08-20T02:40:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/significance-of-birds-nest/460631/1 "2008-08-20T02:40:59Z")
I missed the start of the opening ceremonies at this year’s Olympics, but did they explain the significance of the “Bird’s Nest”? Isn’t there also a dish on some (American) Chinese restaurants by the same name? Does it refer to peace, perhaps? Thanks in advance for the enlightenment. - Young Grasshopper ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/significance-of-birds-nest/460631/2 "2008-08-20T02:50:49Z")
> **[Edible bird's nest](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bird's_nest_soup)** > > Edible bird's nests, also known as swallow nests (Chinese: 燕窝; pinyin: Yàn Wō), are bird nests created from solidified saliva by edible-nest swiftlets, Indian swiftlets and other swiftlets of the genera Aerodramus, Hydrochous, Schoutedenapus and Collocalia, which are harvested for human consumption. > Swallow nests have been used as a delicacy for over 400 years, most often as soup. They are particularly prized in Chinese cuisine due to the rarity, high protein content and rich flavor, and are a... I didn’t notice if they mentioned why the stadium is called the Bird’s Nest but it does look like one. ---
**Author:** ![Pasta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@Pasta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pasta)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/significance-of-birds-nest/460631/3 "2008-08-20T04:27:37Z")
It refers to the appearance of the stadium. Cf. “water cube”. I don’t know if there is any greater significance to building it to look like a bird’s nest in the first place. I’ve been watching a lot of the Olympics, and I’ve not heard any deeper meaning discussed. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/significance-of-birds-nest/460631/4 "2008-08-20T07:32:01Z")
Look at some [photos](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beijing_National_Stadium). Seems an appropriate name. ---
**Author:** ![Svejk\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@Svejk\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svejk_1)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/significance-of-birds-nest/460631/5 "2008-08-20T07:48:30Z")
Apparently, the Swiss architects hadn’t realized that their contraption might look like a bird’s nest when they presented it to the Chinese. The stadium did, however, strike all of the Chinese as a bird’s nest immediately so they decided to stick with it. ---
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/significance-of-birds-nest/460631/6 "2008-08-20T11:48:18Z")
[QUOTE=Krokodil] Look at some [photos](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beijing_National_Stadium). Seems an appropriate name. [/QUOTE] Yeah, I get it… :rolleyes: Perhaps, my question should have been more explicit about any significance to the Chinese, like a symbol of peace or hope, or such. ---
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/significance-of-birds-nest/460631/7 "2008-08-20T11:49:54Z")
[QUOTE=Švejk] Apparently, the Swiss architects hadn’t realized that their contraption might look like a bird’s nest when they presented it to the Chinese. The stadium did, however, strike all of the Chinese as a bird’s nest immediately so they decided to stick with it. [/QUOTE] Wow, that’s really cool… ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/significance-of-birds-nest/460631/8 "2008-08-20T11:53:24Z")
Note that it is only a colloquial name, the official title being the Beijing National Stadium. ---
**Author:** ![arseNal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@arseNal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/arseNal)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/significance-of-birds-nest/460631/9 "2008-08-20T14:30:00Z")
I don’t know if you can call it true cultural significance, but I will tell you that some chinese people do eat [bird’s nest soup](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bird's_nest_soup). So maybe they look at the stadium and see it as a giant tasty delicacy.