McKayla Maroney has been getting a lot of grief this week after her reaction to earning the silver medal in Olympic Vault, and we’re here to give her some more! “It wasn’t the silver that I was disappointed about,” Maroney said. “I was just disappointed in what happened and how I performed.” Pretty good cover for a 16-year old, but a tumblr blog has popped up and it seems McKayla is not impressed by some other things either. Click through to see some of our favorite hilarious pictures of McKayla Maroney- definitely not being impressed.
Biological Legs are a Disadvantage?
Sad For You With Your Old Legs
Hugh Herr rock climbs with his prosthetic legs and believes that, ‘It’s really sad to have biological limbs, you’re constrained by nature and you can upgrade. The artificial parts of our body are immortal.’ Herr isn’t just a double amputee, he’s also an MIT Professor specializing in Prosthetics. He uses different prosthetics for climbing than for hiking or running. So can prosthetic legs be an advantage?
Fake Better Than Real?
There are some pretty interesting conversations going on out there about an unfair competitive advantage for those that have artificial limbs. It’s actually quite impressive that technology has come so far that a double amputee can make it to the Olympics using artificial running prosthetics (blades) called “Cheetahs”. South African Oscar Pistorius ran in the 400m Olympic Finals yesterday as the first double amputee to compete in the Olympic games.
Artificial Limbs, Unfair Advantage
Oscar was kept out of the 2008 Olympics because his artificial limbs were considered an unfair technological advantage. For the 2012 Olympics, however, Pistorius was able to compete. His Olympic debut was a 7th place finish in his 400 meter heat.
Check out the video below for why this isn’t an advantage:
Technology Provides Unfair Advantage in Olympics
Artificial limbs are not the only technology being debated. In the 2008 Olympics, the LZR Racer swim suits were allowed and 90% of races were won by swimmers wearing the LZR Racer Swim Suit. The 2012 Olympics did not allow those suits, determining that they provided an unfair advantage to swimmers. Still the 2012 swim suits take advantage of technology as well. Bicycle advances may also provide an unfair technological advantage for specific riders and teams. What other technologies may be providing unfair advantages? Do you think fake legs constitute an unfair advantage?
What Do You Do With Too Much Free Time?
You Build a replica of London’s Olympic Stadium. From Legos.
Warren Elsmore, famous for other Lego creations, designed this 100,000 piece Lego set in honor of the Opening Games of the Olympics in London. This 220 pound behemoth was built by 4 “engineers”, and took approximately 450 hours to complete. We have more pictures, so click the break for more, but here is a 360 degree view of this masterful creation.
Comical Close-Ups of Ping Pong Players Mid-Match
Well, the 2012 Olympics are well underway in London, England. I’m sure you’ve all been glued to your sofas, watching the world’s greatest athletes swim and cycle and sprint and ride and row and shoot and punch and murder (okay, maybe not murder), breaking world records hither and thither, all in the name of bagging a gold, silver or bronze medal for their home country. But hey, how about a bit of a lighthearted break from the heart-racing tension of it all, courtesy of London-based arts site It’s Nice That?
The site, which specialises in showcasing artwork and photography, has published several close-up images of professional ping pong players’ faces mid-match. As you’ll see below, the players display an ever-so-comical expression on their faces that draws a fine line between fierce competitiveness and feckless bewilderment. It’s Nice That is unaware of the origin of the photos, but whoever took them, if you’re out there somewhere, thank you for sharing these with us. [Read more…]
Banksy has Tickets to the Olympics
As you can probably tell, we’re pretty excited about the 2012 London Olympics over here. And it seems Banksy is as well. He’s posted two new pieces of his famed graffiti art on his site. This time, they depict a javelin thrower packing a little more firepower than usual and a pole vaulter escaping over a chain-link fence. While his messages may be polarizing, there is no denying that Bansky is one of the greatest cultural artists of our generation. Hopefully we’ll see more uploads from Banksy this week as the Games continue.
And be sure to check out this article on the politics of Banksy’s stunning art at The Atlantic Wire.