Why do people bite their Olympic medals?

I believe the reason is twofold:

One, out of a sense of tradition. Just as store owners would bite coins during the gold rush to be sure they were legitimate, the athletes are doing the same thing, although it is MUCH more out of tradition than any real doubt at this point.

Two, as a way to check that this isn't a dream, in a manner similar to pinching oneself.

hope it helps!

~Abab

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RE:

Why do people bite their Olympic medals?

I've been glueing my eyes to the television these few days, and many athletes bite their medal when they pose for a photo. Any actual reasons to that?

It's just a goof...pretending the gold medal is real gold. Old timers used gold coins for money, and they would bite down on a coin to make sure it was real gold. Gold is very soft and easy to bite..

It is an old tradition. People used to do a "bite test" to determine the quality of the gold, silver or other metal. Gold is soft, and dental enamel on your teeth is harder. If it were pure 24k gold, your teeth would scratch the gold before the gold would leave a mark on your teeth. These days, it's just a remnant of a long-standing tradition!

People used to do it to check if it's "real" gold. But nowadays they just do it for posing for a photoshoot.

They shouldn't really bite it because they might damage the white jade that is on these new medals.

Maybe its a traditional thing, just a pose most people do.

to be the first to bite their medal? o_O

i think the purpose of biting the medals is by having the feel of what athletes worked for...i mean feeling the fruits of their labor that after a long way or series of events they finally lasted into something they deserve

they're hungry for the medal =)

because you can't swallow or eat, you only can bite.

just a joke : )