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Ever noticed all those photos of Olympians biting down on their gold medals?
Well, it isn’t exactly a new thing. Here’s the 1991 Great Britain track and field team chomping on their win.
After the athletes are awarded, photographers always ask them to bite down on their gold necklaces.
Why?
Well historically, it’s a way to find out if gold is real or not.
So when you bite down on a gold object, your teeth should leave a mark.
Unfortunately, the Olympic medals this year aren’t entirely made of gold.
In fact, they haven’t been made of solid gold since 1912.
This year, they’re only about 1.2% gold.
The biting thing’s a pretty weird tradition, so some athletes kiss their medals instead.
If you were an Olympic gold medalist, would you rather bite your medal or kiss it?
