# What's with the funky Vancouver Olympic medals? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [February 16, 2010, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-funky-vancouver-olympic-medals/529211 "2010-02-16T16:55:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-funky-vancouver-olympic-medals/529211/1 "2010-02-16T16:55:29Z")
[Seen here.](http://www.blokeish.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/2010-vancouver-olympic-medals-gold.jpg) It looks like somebody ran over it with their car :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Erdosain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/erdosain/32/7284_2.png) [@Erdosain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erdosain)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-funky-vancouver-olympic-medals/529211/2 "2010-02-16T16:58:38Z")
Eh, there’s only so many ways you can do a disk made out of metal. Looks weird, but cooler than something that just looks like an over-sized coin. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-funky-vancouver-olympic-medals/529211/3 "2010-02-16T17:19:54Z")
In 1994 they were at least round, but were remarkably multicoloured. A gold medal was less than half gold. In 1998 they had this crescent thing in the top; it’s hard to discern if it’s just a deep indentation or some kind of plastic insert. In 2002 they has weird, sort-of-polygonal-but-not quite shapes, like poorly made pizzas. In 2006 they looked like donuts. It’s been awhile since they just had a solid metal medal, as it were. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-funky-vancouver-olympic-medals/529211/4 "2010-02-16T17:23:11Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > In 2006 they looked like donuts. They should have stuck with that, or maybe made them cruller-shaped. Then Tim Hortons could have offered an Olympic Medal Replica Donut with your double-double. ---
**Author:** ![SpartanDC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b2d939/32.png) [@SpartanDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpartanDC)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-funky-vancouver-olympic-medals/529211/5 "2010-02-16T17:31:02Z")
I saw a segment about this year’s medals on the local news – each gold medal is unique (same for the silver and bronze). They’re all cut out of a larger piece of artwork done by a First Nations artist in Canada. That doesn’t explain why they’re all bent out of shape, but at least explains the design and why one person’s gold medal doesn’t quite look like another’s. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-funky-vancouver-olympic-medals/529211/6 "2010-02-16T17:59:26Z")
Nothing classier than a medal that looks like a cd left in the car window in Vegas. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-funky-vancouver-olympic-medals/529211/7 "2010-02-16T18:12:31Z")
On a related note, [here’s](http://www.canadianfloristmag.com/content/view/2886/57/) what the bouquets given to medalists look like. I love the idea in principle and the story behind them: > [@](#): > > All of the flowers and greens will be carefully hand selected and shaped into the bouquets by marginalized women, who may be recovering from addiction, leaving prison, exiting the sex trade, or who have been victims of violence, as well as by other women they train with who are changing careers to become florists. but the look: :dubious ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-funky-vancouver-olympic-medals/529211/8 "2010-02-16T18:29:29Z")
It’s an interesting Olympic tradition that the Summer Olympic medals are always the same design, but the Winter Olympic medals vary tremendously. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-funky-vancouver-olympic-medals/529211/9 "2010-02-16T19:39:28Z")
I seem to recall one year when there was a big hullabaloo about them being made of crystal instead of metal. This mentions it, but the pictures not too good: [Olympic\_Medal\_History](http://hubpages.com/hub/What-Are-Olympic-Medals-Worth) Whatever, I’m getting a bit sick of the people complaining about how Canada has handled things. Few hosts have had the kind of sheer bad luck they’ve had, and they’ve stepped up to the plate each time. The Olympics should not be reduced to a snark fest. . . IMHO ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-funky-vancouver-olympic-medals/529211/10 "2010-02-16T20:02:26Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > I seem to recall one year when there was a big hullabaloo about them being made of crystal instead of metal. > > This mentions it, but the pictures not too good: [Olympic\_Medal\_History](http://hubpages.com/hub/What-Are-Olympic-Medals-Worth) From the Albertville games of 1992. [Here’s a good picture](http://www.vancouver2010.com/img/00/03/94/albertville-main-cropped_38imgFLead-vP.jpg) that shows the transparency. They’re one of the few I dislike, because the medals didn’t have enough metal. I like the medals this year, and I especially like that the Winter medals are always different. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-funky-vancouver-olympic-medals/529211/11 "2010-02-17T03:40:19Z")
You’d think some of the Winter Games would use snowflake designs for their medals… 😕 ---
**Author:** ![GreatStuffMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f04885/32.png) [@GreatStuffMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreatStuffMan)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 10:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-funky-vancouver-olympic-medals/529211/12 "2010-02-17T10:08:05Z")
It’s modern art, don’t you see that? ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-funky-vancouver-olympic-medals/529211/13 "2010-02-17T12:23:37Z")
I’d prefer a simple disk, but it’s nothing to get all bent out of shape over. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-funky-vancouver-olympic-medals/529211/14 "2010-02-17T12:35:32Z")
The medal is just the cherry on the cake for anyone who has the experience of getting on an Olympics podium. Unfortunately, this cherry has been dropped on the floor and stamped on, before being put back on the cake. ---
**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:** [February 17, 2010, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-funky-vancouver-olympic-medals/529211/15 "2010-02-17T12:39:41Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > I’d prefer a simple disk, but it’s nothing to get all bent out of shape over. You’re warped. 😉