Every four years, the Summer Olympics come around, and for about two event-filled weeks we are torn between feeling proud for how awesome our country is and feeling intense self-loathing and disappointment at how unathletic and unextraordinary we are.
But even as we try not to hate ourselves as we sit on our couches and eat ice cream while watching athletes our age run 5k's in 15 minutes or swim next to the legendary Michael Phelps, the Olympics are inarguably one of the most exciting worldwide events to experience, and no one can help but look forward to the next Games as soon as they end. In honor of the 2016 Olympics in Rio, here are 16 facts you probably didn't know about the globe's favorite competitions:
1. Kevin Durant has the highest income at the Rio 2016 Games.
America's favorite basketball player is making serious bank compared to the rest of the Olympians, earning a $56.2 million salary. He could handcraft his own gold medals for himself and his whole team with that paycheck.
2. The longest Olympic wrestling match in history lasted 11 hours.
This inhumanly-long match in the 1912 Summer Games in Stockholm was between wrestlers from Russia and Finland. How this is possible, no idea. Honestly, I can't even make it 11 hours without like 5 meals and a couple naps.
3. The 1960 Olympic gold medalist for the marathon ran barefoot.
He was also the first athlete from Africa to win a gold, so further proof that he was likely more god and less human. This makes me slightly regret all the money I've spent on expensive running shoes.
4. Gold medals aren't actually gold.
Since 1912, gold medals have been made out of silver and copper. You'd think after earning your title as the world champion you'd at least get a medal made of the real stuff, but...
5. Two sports are making their return to the Summer Olympics after a long break.
Rugby is coming back to the Summer Games for the first time since 1924, and golf is finally ending its 112 year hiatus. @TigerWoods where you at?
6. The Olympic Winter Games didn't begin until 1924.
How did people go four entire years without the Olympics? I can barely wait two. And yeah, sports like ice hockey and figure skating used to be summer events.
7. Rio's 2016 Olympics are the first Olympic Games ever held in South America.
Woo, Western Hemisphere represent. By far, Europe has hosted the majority of the Summer Games, followed by North America, then Asia, and then Australia with two. Poor Africa still has yet to lose its Olympics virginity.
8. The 2016 Olympics will be the first to showcase Olympians born in the 2000s.
OK, if this doesn't make you hate your life, nothing will. Some of these athletes are younger than us (too young to even drive, if that puts it in perspective) and here I am, almost 20, with nothing to my name except student loans. The youngest competitor is Gaurika Singh from Nepal, born in 2002. She's 13 and already achieved more in his life than I ever will.
9. The U.S. earned the most medals at London 2012.
Us Americans came home with 104 total medals, 46 of which were gold. *insert Drake and Josh's Grandpa voice* USA USA USA!
10. There are 7.5 million tickets, with prices ranging from $40 to thousands of dollars.
You can get a seat at some swimming events for the same price as a couple trips to Roots, or you could drop $3,000 for a spot at the Opening Ceremony. Who needs to pay for tuition, anyway?
11. The Olympic Village at Rio sort of (really) sucks.
There have been endless problems with the construction and living conditions of the Olympic Village this year, where all the athletes stay. As in, bathrooms flooding, gas leaks, the Australian team getting robbed, and one competitor from Argentina getting trapped in an elevator for 40 minutes right before his match. Rio, you had one job.
12. Which is why the U.S. basketball teams stay on a cruise ship.
Who wouldn't pick living in a luxury liner over crappy apartments? They dock at the eastern waterfront of the city, away from all the notorious craziness that goes down at the Village, but athletes insist they're not getting special treatment and that there are disadvantages that come with living on a boat. (But come on, how bad could a cruise ship be?)
13. Organizers prepare 60,000 meals a day to feed the Olympians.
Which makes sense, considering how Michael Phelps alone eats 12,000 calories daily, with a breakfast consisting of 3 egg sandwiches, a bowl of grits, 3 slices of French toast, an omelette, and a stack of chocolate chip pancakes. And that's just one meal for one athlete.
14. Spectators yell "Zika" every time U.S. soccer goalie Hope Solo gets the ball.
The Brazilians were a tiny bit offended at Hope Solo's reaction to the threat of the Zika virus after she posted pictures of all her mosquito nets and bug repellent, so now whenever she gets the ball during a game, you can hear the crowd shouting "Zika!" in the background. Classic.
15. Usain Bolt has been training to run faster than the speed of fire.
RIP to anyone who has to compete against Bolt, who is recognized as the fastest man on earth. For his Olympic prep, he's been racing on a track alongside of a trail of fire, literally outrunning the elements.
16. UVA has 18 Wahoos in the 2016 Olympics.
Morgan Bryan and Becky Sauerbrunn for soccer, Matt Miller and Meghan O'Leary in rowing, and current Wahoo Leah Smith in swimming, who just took home a bronze medal for the U.S. Wahoowa!
No matter how inadequate all these super athletes make you feel, the 2016 Olympics are by far the highlight of the summer, and I'm already looking forward to the Winter Games in a couple years. We may never be talented enough for anything even close to the Olympics, but at least we can seem somewhat impressive with our extensive Olympics-fun-fact knowledge.
