Ah, the Olympics. That time once every two years where athletes of every caliber come together in the spirit of competition and sportsmanship. Really, what’s not to love? Ever since they began this year, my family and I have sat down for at least an hour a day to watch some event of another. It’s that rare time when whitewater rafting is held with the same esteem as beach volleyball, a time when both the sports and the athletes playing them really shine.

Even so, that’s not to say that the entire event itself is forgettable. Quite the opposite really. Like any topic I’m interested in, I tend to do a bit of digging and found some very interesting things. Here are seven surprising facts you might not know about the Olympics!

#1: It Was a Religious Festival

The time of the first recorded Olympics stems all the way back to ancient Greece as early as 776 BC. In that time, a festival was held once every four years in Olympia to honor Zeus. This is one reason why it’s called the Olympics, but also because it’s said the participants strove to be worthy of a spot on Mount Olympus, the dwelling place of the gods. Talk about lofty goals.

#2: The First Olympic Champion Was a Cook

No, he didn’t win for cooking the best bread in the Cooking event. Though it’s entirely plausible that the games had been going on for many years prior with many other men receiving awards, the first recorded winner of an Olympic event was a man named Coroebus of Elis. He was a simple cook who won the footrace and, in the process, because the first recorded champion of the event.

#3: The Birth of the Modern Games

The one who we have to thank for this lovely tradition of completion was actually a Frenchman! His name was Baron Pierre de Coubertin, and he was struck with the idea to revive the games (after it had been in decline for more than one thousand years) when he visited an ancient cite where the games were once held. He soon got permission to form the International Olympic Committee, which is still the main board behind the Olympics today, and the first modern games were held in 1896.

#4: One for the Home Team

Speaking of the 1896 games, it’s only fitting that it would be in Athens. What’s even more fitting is that Greece collectively took home the most medals out of any country competing that year with forty-seven! I suppose there is something to home-turf advantage after all.

#5: The Meaning of the Rings

The Olympic symbol of the five interlocked rings on a banner of white is very likely one of the most recognizable symbols in the world. Each ring represents a different region of the world: Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and Oceania. In addition, every national flag in the world contain at least one of the symbol’s colors, which are red, blue, green, black, and yellow. Just goes to show the idealism behind these games!

#6: Youngsters Abound

Let’s fast-forward a bit to this year’s Rio Olympics, shall we? These games will be the first to feature athletes born as early as 2000! Yes, you’ve done your math right. Though the rules often differ on competitors’ minimum age for each event, this means that we have Olympians as young as sixteen years old representing their country! The first U.S. Olympian born in the year 2000 is table-tennis player Kanak Jha (above). Makes you feel old, doesn’t it?

#7: Você Fala Inglês, Taxista?

In preparation for this year’s games, the Rio Organizing Committee have provided local taxi drivers with free English lessons to better accommodate the fans. The course is four months long and was intended to help fans flying in to watch the games get to where they needed to be. Hospitality indeed!

I love the Olympics. It’s one of my favorite things to watch, and the ideals behind it are really admirable. But it’s also the history that cinches it for me, and I hope that these games and the people competing in them will continue to make history with no end in sight.

(All credit goes to CNN.com, FactMonster.com, NBCnews.com, and History.com.)