Event Budget Planning - Usa Diving: Fill & Download for Free

There's a bunch of information out there regarding retirement in thailand, as well as other foreign locations. They will have a bunch of standard advice but i can give you some of my personal insights also.First: before you get too caught up in the romance of an exotic retirement, spend some real time where you plan to reside. In thailand, it seems most retirees either live in chiangmai, pattaya, krabi or one of the southern islands. Do some homework on the local area you are most attracted to. Next, come stay for 1 month minimum using a airbnb or short term apartment. I'd even go so far as to say you should avoid a full serviced apartment (unless that's the lifestyle you plan to live) to help you get a sense of the day to day issues residents face. In my experience things are not ridiculously difficult, just different and staying for a month or 2 will help you get through the new arrival mindset, where you revel in the new place and settle in to what long term residence feels like. Living in a tourist destination is great and feels like a vacation for a while, but eventually real life kicks in and the really cool visit to the local fresh market you enjoyed as a tourist, becomes just another chore where you could really miss the supermarkets of America. Having said that, thailand has many of the modern conveniences. ..supermarkets (adequate, but different from usa), megastores, 7-11. It turns out that for me, i use the modern spots and also go to local fresh markets and temporary farmers markets for my basic needs.Points to ponder and address. ..Language skills. ..do you speak any thai? Do you plan on actively learning? This will help clarify what areas you will be able to live in most easily. Pattaya, phuket central chiangmai are areas you will have less communication issues than other, less visited places.What medical issues do you have? What insurance do you have? Does it provide for long term overseas coverage? Do you plan on just using local medical? Local medical services can rival the best the west has to offer but it's not free. My buddy had a quadrupal bypass done at one of the premier hospitals in Bangkok (Bamrungrad). Total cost was about 25,000USD - really cheap compared to the 150k bill in the usa, but a significant amount of money to come up with. He had to put up a cash/credit card deposit of about 30,000 before the operation was done - no mean feat when you've just had a major heart attack. They do coordinate with insurance companies - well, some of them. The usual way is for you to pay in advance and reclaim from your insurance company afterwards. If you don't have cash reserves or sufficient immediate credit to address emergency needs, you could have real issues. You could go to the public hospital. ..i actually have my local cardiologist at the premier government hospital in Bangkok. She studied, trained and practiced in the usa before returning home. But finding a gem like her takes time and i, for one would never use a provincial hospital for anything but life saving triage to get me to Bangkok or a good private hospital in the provinces in the event of real emergency. I'm not trying to scare you off, but it is something you need to have a clear plan. You can tour clinics and hospitals during your ‘look-see’ visitDo you plan to rent or buy? Personally, while i own a couple properties, it is not trivial and other than condos, i don't recommend trying ownership unless you know exactly what you're doing. And even though i own some property, i actually rent my Bangkok place. I want the freedom to move when i feel like it. The fact that I've rented the same place for over 5 years doesn't matter - when the time comes, i can give 30 days notice, pack my stuff and move. As a retiree, i relish the thought of freedom to move if i get bored with my living situation. Also, your overall living budget will drive some of the choices.Budget - If you're thinking of retiring to Thailand on 1000usd/mo, you're going to have a lot of issues around choice of where and how you'll live, not to mention you won't qualify for a retirement visa without verifiable income of about 2000usd a month or have about 25000usd to leave in a deposit account. You probably want to talk with visa agencies during that same temporary visit i suggested. There are stories of people who have managed to reside in thailand for years using tourist visas and use border runs every few months. From what I'm hearing though, the immigration department is cracking down on people flouting the immigration laws. Just be sure to get the latest info and consider using an expert to get your visa status taken care of. They know the nature of the game. Frankly, i don't.What do you plan to do during your retirement? That will color what your best choices will be regarding location, housing and the like. Love scuba diving? Living on one of the islands is probably more fun that residing in the mountains near chiangmai. Nature photographer? Maybe the mountains makes sense etc etc. Plan on driving yourself? Maybe avoiding bangkok makes sense. Also, you need to do stuff, not laze around the house all day. Being lazy gets really boring, opening the opportunity for really bad habits, like alcoholism, to kick in. I've seen it happen. I actually operate a money-losing orchard. Yeah, it costs me money but i have great fruit, spices and vegetables as well as, the best eggs in the world. But that's me. Do have some idea of how you'll fill your day.I think that about sums up my thoughts. I've lived and worked in over 20 countries in my life and i love thailand the best, but i am the first to admit thailand isn't for everybody - you need to be flexible, a little adventurous, in reasonable, not necessarily great health (i have CHF, permanent afib with an implanted defibrillator) and enjoy living a life that's pretty different to life back home.I wish you well wherever your retirement takes you

A2AI will get to the cost, if you don’t need my elaborations, go straight to the bottom of my answer for the math. If you are interested to see the full context my answer relates to, this is where you start. (Edit at the bottom Jan. 25th 2020)The United States subsidises fossil fuels with $649 billion of taxpayers money that goes straight into the shareholder’s pockets. [1]Give that to renewables, and the ratio becomes too good to not build wind farms everywhere. [2]“The short answer is that a typical wind turbine, of the type shown, will have an energy payback of less than 6 months and a carbon dioxide payback of around 6 months.”A wind turbine lasts about 20 years, depending on circumstance they can last 25 or more. [3]How much do you think it will cost to fix the damage from fracking? Remember, most energy in the US comes from fracking. [4][5][6]Now, I know it’s a lot to take in, but stay with me, let this sink in. The math is at the bottom, it’s simple.Here are some nice fracking ponds. Fracking wastes billions of gallons of freshwater in the US per year. [7] (Read the linked article, it’s fun. /s)Or coal?More coalOr shale frackingThis is GermanyOh, and the thousands of people who get sick with lung disease per year, who get cancer, or die from the mercury or from the radioactive isotopes coal plants emit?[8][9][10][11][12][13]Coal plants emit:Fossil fuel pollution costs Americans $240 billion per year, just in weather extremes it causes. Costs to human health from air pollution caused by fossil fuels averaged $188 billion a year over the past decade. [14]So far, together with the taxpayer subsidies, we have over 1 trillion dollars in cost from the use of fossil fuels, all covered by the taxpayer, but you can’t afford health care for all.The IMF says global use of fossil fuels run up a tab of $5.3 trillion per year. That’s trillion, with a T. [15]Now, the cost for waging wars over fossil fuels, the cost of lives lost in these wars, and to pollution, the cost of the families these wars destroyed alone in the US, the cost of the poisoned, destroyed environment, the cost that will incur when climate change and water and air pollution start really hitting hard, that will come in on top later, but it will come in. [16][17][18]Short answerSo, the costs for a utility scale wind turbine range from about $1.3 million to $2.2 million per MW installed, most have about two MW. [19] There are no hidden costs for anything, and no, wind turbines do not cause cancer.Let’s assume a $4 million 2MW turbine, maintenance is negligible, when compared. The US use about 4 trillion kWh per year, that’s 4000 trillion watt-hours [20], Assuming that a turbine runs only on 200 days out of the year, and only for ten hours, then one turbine produces 4 billion watt-hours (4 GWh) per year, so you would need 1 million such turbines across the US, at no extra cost for twenty years, and no one dies, no one gets sick. So 1 million times $4 million, that’s $4 trillion, over twenty years though, that’s $200 billion per year, total cost. Let’s add 25% for maintenance, that adds up to $250 billion per year and you have free, clean, renewable electric power in the US for twenty years. (compare that with just the $650 billion in fossil fuel subsidies per year). I realise, you would need more electric power, as fossil fuel powered vehicles would go electric etc, or hydrogen fuel cell, but the cost ratio will easily be 1/10 in favour of wind, easily. Also, the cost would go down drastically, if that much wind turbines were to be installed.(tell me if my math is wrong, I’m no math expert ;-)I say it again, who needs climate change to make renewable energy the sensible, the reasonable, and the economical way to go.Now let’s do the math on job creation, new inventions, health benefits, social benefits, environmental benefits etc. Sorry, just f*cking with you. ;-)Edit: January 25th 2020First, let me thank you all for your input and upvotes, I appreciate your interest in the subject.Some comments addressed open questions and issues on the sideline, or issues on the grand question of the economics of renewables.Let me sum up what I wrote in the comments, so that I don’t have to repeat myself endlessly.On nuclearNuclear power is ok when there are no other options, otherwise, construction is comparatively prohibitively expensive, and waste storage is still an issue.The aesthetics of wind turbinesTo some, wind turbines are eye sores. If that is you, please refer to the images in my answer, that show you what mining fossil fuels does, not only aesthetically.Bird KillWind turbines kill between 214,000 and 368,000 birds annually — a small fraction compared with the estimated 6.8 million fatalities from collisions with cell and radio towers and the 1.4 billion to 3.7 billion deaths from cats, according to the peer-reviewed study by two federal scientists and the environmental consulting firm West Inc.Recyclability of turbinesThe end of life of turbines still creates a bit of an issue, their size makes them hard to facilitate landfill space for. Let’s not forget though, that the ingenuity of material scientists is making progress on the recyclability and that the blades that go to landfills aren’t made of poisonous, harmful materials.My scenario is fiction, my numbers are hypothetical, as stated.No country should, nor will rely in one energy source alone. A mix of wind, photovoltaic solar, thermal solar (with storage capacity and HVDC lines to deliver the power to far away urban areas) hydro (with and without storage capacity), geothermal, and, where there is no other option, nuclear makes most sense, as is the goal in the EU, and even in China.Renewables are the reasonable way forward.Renewable energy is already cheaper than fossil fuel driven energy, as I have sufficiently stated and shown with credible links and sound argumentation to back it up, even black rock agrees with this. Check my linked sources.Yes, we will have to massively scale up capacities, and that would be good economically, environmentally, financially, for job creation, to push inventions and new technologies, for public health, socially, and certainly geo politically. Phasing out fossil fuel reliance in energy production would be a win win move. Only the shareholder's short term profits would dive a little at first, who cares. Imagine the power Germany would have if it were energy autark. No need for dealing with Russia, the Saudis, Iran or the US. Trade deals would look much more favourably for countries that can not be bullied with the petrodollar.Besides, renewable energy consumption is common sense, as the name says. Renewable means they are infinite, beside being harmless to the environment if planned correctly.On the potential of solar thermal in Europe / North Africahttps://www.aee-intec.at/0uploads/dateien758.pdfHere are some more arguments and factsRoger Fjellstad Olsen's answer to What are the most compelling data sets and explanation of climate change?Also, if you are interested in just how badly fracking wrecks and poisons the environment in the US, please refer to Steven J Owens’s comment under this question, it’s an eye opener.On my mathHow about return on investment, financially? This didn’t really come out in my answer.The six months return from the quote is on energy spent and CO2 spent in producing the unit. Also, the Investment cost is based on a constant current price. In reality, that price has come down 40% to almost 70% during the last decade, and the trend is expected to pick up as we go.This report confirms Wind Technology advancements continue to drive down the cost of wind energy. This is of course a thorn in the eye of the US LNG and fracking industry, which is no longer profitable. US energy prices are reliant on subsidised fossil fuels, and not sustainable. Report Confirms Wind Technology Advancements Continue to Drive Down the Cost of Wind Energyhttps://www.lazard.com/media/450784/lazards-levelized-cost-of-energy-version-120-vfinal.pdfThe math on investment return.In my scenario, there would be a return of almost 15%, a great investment if you ask me. (the 4 GWh is with a very low 200 operational days and 10h each day, so very low) Operation and Maintenance, O&M, (offshore) is $20/MWh high average on- and offshore mix. Say we cut that 15% to 10%, safely. As you can see, the investment will yield these 10% absolute minimum. But this investment will also bring you clean energy, and fossil fuel independence, beside a clean image and great PR, not bad at all, in my view. (according to my UBS investment banker, any solid long term investment that returns 8% or more, is to be rated excellent)I’m not the only one who thinks that: BlackRock raises $1 billion for clean power as wind, solar boom - Renewable Energy WorldI realise, one billion is coffee change to BlackRock, but it’s a sign, and a signal as well as a start. Top Wind Stocks for Q1 2020If there is a sensible, objective argument against investing in wind power, I haven’t heard it.The cost of Real EstateNo, my math did not include that, but as I usually do my estimates, they are rather on the high side. I also did not account for the drastic price reduction that such a massive rise in demand would entail. In this case, the cost of rural real estate is neglectable for now. Even fighting complaints in court will cost more.Usually, real estate is not purchased but leased. Farmers may still use 95% of their land, as turbines need to be spaced out for wind dynamics purposes.Offshore Windfarms and O&MAccording to one comment, the diesel spent on maintaining these offshore farms is considerable, let’s check that out.“35,000 long tons of diesel” is a lot of diesel. Let’s hope that other, more climate neutral fuels become available in the foreseeable future, that as well as efficient, economically feasible CO2 capture.Other than that, without doing the math in detail this time, my cost per MW installed is quite high for land turbines, though clearly off when offshore plants are included. The cost of offshore turbines per MW is about $6.2 million, that’s 12.4 million per 2 MW unit. Nevermind the arrival of the first 12 MW GE Haliade-X Turbine. Offshore wind power price plunges by a third in a year: BNEF | RechargeSo if all turbines are offshore, it’s probably safe to assume that they run 250 days a year, and 14 hours a day, at least. with those numbers the total cost would go to $8.8 trillion, or $450 billion per year over 20 years, 25% maintenance included. The numbers still look great, even at current cost, and that would drop drastically once such an undertaking were to commence.About the diesel for construction and maintenance, that’s a negative, but compared with the pollution that the production of gas, oil or coal creates, it dwindles. I guess, the CO2 offset would take 2 years instead of six months, still a much better bottomline than any fossil fuel.Obviously these scenarios are hypothetical, as there would be a mix of hydro, wind, solar pv and thermal-solar steam powered. There is also a good chance that in two decades nuclear fusion will begin to make a dent. We’ll see, I guess.Geo politicsThe effects of other countries on climate change. Why should we try and be reasonable when other countries aren’t.Simple. The worst CO2 sinner is Saudi Arabia, whom the US does business with. Just sanction them like you do Iran and Russia, problem solved. Please don’t tell me the Saudis have the moral high ground compared with Russia, Iran or China.Then make a sensible trade deal with China, they will agree to a conversion pace to renewables, they are in it already. BTW, something like three quarters of their dirty production is for export to western countries, EU, USA etc. Any trade deal should include that China apply the same clean production regulations as the EU has, and improving them all simultaneously. China Is Set To Become The World's Renewable Energy Superpower, According To New Reporthttps://time.com/5714267/china-green-energy/Will all this happen? I don't think so, too much corruption, and too much ignorance within the comfortably numb, happily consuming population.Europe subsidises fossil fuels also, only it's better hidden.Global fossil fuels subsidies are, so the IMF has estimated, $5.2 trillion annually, that's trillion with a t. Global Fossil Fuel Subsidies Remain Large: An Update Based on Country-Level Estimates This includes harmful effects of pollution to human health.In comparison, the global defense budget is about $1.7 trillion.I currently live in Austria, we have a 100% renewable energy nix online. Consumers pay about €120.-/MWh, about five times that of what US consumers pay, because of the subsidised fossil fuel drive market there.But there are other types of subsidiary cost to the citizens. In Germany, coal fired plants cause approximately 4000 premature deaths per year just from lung disease alone, from particulate matter. Then there are deaths caused by the Mercury emissions and radioactive isotopes. That's beside the cost incurred by CO2 emissions and climate change, or from mining coal in the first place. The cost to German public health is estimated at between 2.5 and 6.5 billion.We should actually hold the owners of those industries responsible for these 'costs' and consequences accountable, instead we prefer to pick up the tab ourselves.On subsidies and pricingFirst, let me correct. I was wrong, it turns out Austria has only 76% renewables online. Daten & Fakten zur StromerzeugungThe next chart shows you where we are in terms of pricing.Here is a list with Power plants in Austria. Liste österreichischer Kraftwerke – WikipediaI guess, the important thing is that we have little fossil fuel driven plants, and where we do have them, it’s natural gas, the cleanest form. Environmental Impacts of Natural Gas In effect, subsidies in form of detrimental effects on environment and health are much lower. (than for example in Germany, where they still burn a ton of coal, the dirtiest of all fossil fuels)In the EU, we actually subsidise renewables to bring down cost, but these subsidies should end soon, as renewables are already cheaper than fossil fuel driven energy production.I haven’t done the math for the US. Subsidies are a sum of many costs and payments. It seems to me, that the US economy, and US lifestyle are both largely driven by cheap fossil fuel energy. Energy that should cost much more, considering all the detrimental effects. (war, diseases, environmental impact of poisoning, all effects of climate change etc.)From the IMF study:“This paper updates estimates of fossil fuel subsidies, defined as fuel consumption times the gap between existing and efficient prices (i.e., prices warranted by supply costs, environmental costs, and revenue considerations), for 191 countries. Globally, subsidies remained large at $4.7 trillion (6.3 percent of global GDP) in 2015 and are projected at $5.2 trillion (6.5 percent of GDP) in 2017. The largest subsidizers in 2015 were China ($1.4 trillion), United States ($649 billion), Russia ($551 billion), European Union ($289 billion), and India ($209 billion). About three quarters of global subsidies are due to domestic factors—energy pricing reform thus remains largely in countries’ own national interest—while coal and petroleum together account for 85 percent of global subsidies. Efficient fossil fuel pricing in 2015 would have lowered global carbon emissions by 28 percent and fossil fuel air pollution deaths by 46 percent, and increased government revenue by 3.8 percent of GDP.” Global Fossil Fuel Subsidies Remain Large: An Update Based on Country-Level EstimatesI look at the report, and I see many costs not included. climate change, with droughts, storms, floods and wildfires should be partially included. The cost to human health is put in much too low, in my opinion. Also, the effect of people getting sick and not working should be accounted for, and the cost of poisoning the Environment and contaminating billions of gallons ow fresh water etc.The following article really makes a great case for realistic pricing of fossil fuels. Study: U.S. Fossil Fuel Subsidies Exceed Pentagon SpendingIt is reasonable to assume that many GOP politicians are in the pockets of Fossil fuel industry magnates.The Hidden Subsidy of Fossil FuelsThere is a great answer I suggest you read if this interests you.Michael Barnard's answer to How can climate change be tackled without a catastrophic depopulation event?Let me know if I missed an issue.Footnotes[1] Global Fossil Fuel Subsidies Remain Large: An Update Based on Country-Level Estimates[2] http://The short answer is that a typical wind turbine, of the type shown, will have an energy payback of less than 6 months and a carbon dioxide payback of around 6 months.[3] How long does a wind turbine last? - Renewables First[4] EPA Wants To Allow Continued Wastewater Dumping In Wyoming[5] What is a Fracking Pond and All the Various Alternatives? | Well Water Solutions[6] Quaker Earthcare Witness[7] 5 Million Gallons of Freshwater Used to Frack Just One Well[8] Coal Plant Water Pollution | Beyond Coal[9] Cleaner Power Plants | US EPA[10] EPA Loosens Regulations on Toxic Ash from Coal Plants -- Environmental Protection[11] E.P.A. Weakens Rules Governing Toxic Water Pollution From Coal Plants[12] Health Risks of Toxic Emissions from a Coal-Fired Power Plant[13] Coal burning plants aren’t just polluting the air—they’re poisoning water[14] Weather extremes, fossil fuel pollution cost US $240 billion: study[15] IMF: 'True cost' of fossil fuels is $5.3 trillion a year[16] The Health Care Burden of Fossil Fuels[17] Page on scientificamerican.com[18] Five reasons you should care about air pollution[19] Wind energy frequently asked questions (FAQ)| EWEA[20] List of countries by electricity consumption - Wikipedia

One hundred and eleven lesser known facts about the Olympics:1) When Canadian Tom Longboat collapsed in the heat after 20 miles of the 1908 London Games marathon, South African prison officer Charles Hefferon took the lead and was coasting to victory until, with one-and-a-half miles remaining, he accepted a victory glass of champagne and a pat on the back from a well-wisher. The bubbly caused him to vomit, and Hefferon was overtaken by Italian baker Dorando Pietri, who entered White City Stadium in such a state of disorientation he began running the wrong way and had to be turned around by officials. Needing to run 385 yards for triumph, he collapsed five times in the last 200 yards and was carried over the line on a stretcher. Pietri was disqualified.GettyMarathon men: Alfred Shrubb of Great Britain, Tom Longboat of Canada, John Hayes of the USA, winner of the 1908 London Olympic Marathon, and Dorando Pietri2) The 1500m victory of Luxembourg's Josy Barthel at the 1952 Games was so unexpected officials had not brought along the score to the tiny state's national anthem. With Barthel waiting on the podium, the band were forced to improvise and did well enough - or, indeed, badly enough - for the runner to bury his head in his hands and begin to weep.3) The 400m final at the 1908 London games was ordered to be re-run because American John Carpenter blocked Wyndham Halswelle - a move legal in the States but outlawed in Britain. Carpenter was disqualified and the other two finalists, both Americans, refused to re-race, so Halswelle jogged alone round the track and took gold.4) Australia's Henry Pearce stopped rowing in his 1928 Amsterdam games quarter-final to allow a family of ducks to pass safely in front of his boat. He still won the heat and took gold in the final.5) American Fred Lorz's marathon victory in the 1904 St Louis games was overturned when it was revealed he had hitched a lift in a car for most of the distance before racing to the finish from four miles out.6) Modern games founder Baron Pierre de Coubertin introduced an arts competition at the 1912 Stockholm Games. The gold meal winner for literature was... Baron Pierre de Coubertin.Founder: Pierre de Coubertin won a gold medal for literature7) Hungarian pistol shooter Karoly Takacs was denied a place at the 1936 Olympics because he was only an Army sergeant and not an officer. The ban was lifted but Takacs then had his shooting hand - his right - badly maimed when a grenade exploded in it during military training. Undaunted, he learned to shoot left-handed and won Olympic golds in 1948 and 1952.8) The 2012 Aquatic Centre, built for £269m, has been designed in the shape of a stingray - the fish branded "rank and disagreeable" in Francis Day's 1884 opus The Fishes of Great Britain and Ireland.Stingray: The fish's body and wings inspired the Aquatics Centre architects9) Contrary to the version of events portrayed in the film Chariots Of Fire, devout British sprinter Eric Liddell did not arrive at the 1924 Paris games to find out he would be asked to run on a Sunday. Liddell already knew and had withdrawn from the tournament before he travelled. He also did not take the place of a friend in the 400m, which he won with an Olympic record time.10) Johnny Weismuller, who won a combined five swimming golds at the 1924 and 1928 games, never lost a race. He later starred in 12 movies as Tarzan and used his famous ululating cry to win over Cuban rebels who attempted to kidnap him during a round of golf on the island in 1958.Swim king: USA's Johnny Weissmuller11) Hawaiian swimmer Duke Paoa Kahanamoku – nicknamed The Human Fish - went on to appear in 28 Hollywood movies, including the 1955 Henry Ford classic Mister Roberts.12) Though modern Olympians shoot at clay pigeons, contestants in the 1900 Games took aim at real birds. More than 300 were killed, 21 of them by winner Leon de Lunden of Belgium.13) Steeplechasers at the 1932 Games had to run an extra lap on top of their normal 7.5 when an official lost count.14) Russian Martin Klein was too exhausted to compete in the 1912 Greco-Roman wrestling final after his semi-final with Finland's Alfred Asikainen took 11 hours.15) American Robert LeGendre smashed the world long jump record at the 1924 Games, but his 25ft6ins leap was only part of a pentathlon competition in which he finished third. The long jump gold was won by someone else with a leap of 24ft5ins.Multi-talented: Robert Legendre's giant leap16) Bad weather meant the final two events in the London 1948 London Olympics were held at dusk, with athletes illuminated by car headlights.17) Olympic organisers have provided free condoms to athletes in the Olympic Village ever since the 1992 Games in Barcelona. Randy athletes used all 70,000 at the 2000 Games, leading to organisers supplying nearly twice that amount four years later. After a drop-off to just 100,000 free condoms at Beijing 2008, 150,000 will be handed out at London 2012.18) At the request of the Soviets, there were three different Olympic Villages at Helsinki 1952 - one for men, one for women and one for athletes for Iron Curtain countries.19) Understandably eschewing the lap of honour, London 1908 Marathon winner JJ Hayes was carried around White City stadium on a table.20) James Connolly, triple jump winner at Athens 1896, was refused leave from his studies at American university Harvard to take part. He had to drop out of his course and also had his wallet stolen in Naples less than 24 hours before the event. He later refused an honorary degree from his alma mater.Drop-out: James Brendan Connolly was America's first gold medalist21) The USA won basketball gold at Berlin in 1936, beating Canada by the unusually low score of 19-8. The game was played outside on a sand court in driving rain, making dribbling impossible. By contrast, the USA v Mexico semi-final in the next Olympic basketball tournament, held in London 1948, produced 111 points.22) Thirteen American students completed a three-week journey to take part in the 1896 Games. However they had not taken into account the difference between the Greek and Julian calendars and instead of having 12 days to prepare they arrived the day before the Games began.23) American Margaret Abbott won women's golf gold at the Paris 1900 games in bizarre circumstances. On holiday in the French capital with her mother to visit the World's Fair which was running concurrently, she took part in what she thought was merely a golf tournament to celebrate the Fair and left for the USA not knowing she had become the first-ever American gold medallist.24) Bill Nankeville, father of the comedian Bobby Davro, finished sixth for Great Britain in the 1500m at the 1948 London games.25) American long jumper Meyer Prinstein was prevented from taking part in the final round of the 1904 St Louis Olympics because his college objected to one of their students competing on the Sabbath - even though Prinstein was Jewish.26) Because of segregation in the USA, returning 1936 Olympic hero Jesse Owens had to travel in a Waldorf-Astoria goods lift to reach the official reception before a ticker-tape parade in his honour.Fastest: Jesse Owens crosses the line to break the 100m world record27) Each country's national anthem will last a maximum of a minute if played during a medal ceremony. Bad news for Uruguay, whose anthem is six-and-a-half minutes long.28) But not for Uganda, whose anthem lasts only nine bars.29) Swimming at Athens 1896 involved the competitors being taken out in boats and then asked to paddle the required distance back to shore30) The London Olympic site will feature more than 500 bird boxes and 150 bat boxes to help maintain the local wildlife. But they will not be opened until after the Games, lest the winged beasts disrupt athletes' preparations.31) Aussie swimmer Dawn Fraser, who won freestyle golds at three consecutive games, was given a 10-year ban in 1964 after drunkenly swimming a moat to steal an Olympic flag from outside Emperor Hirohito's palace. She was named Australian of the year.Banned: Dawn Fraser wins the 1964 100m freestyle final in 59.5 seconds32) The 1900 Paris Games included a long jump for horses and a high jump for horses. Extra Dry won the former with a leap of 6.10m, beating Oreste, who finished joint-first in the latter.33) Contestants at the Ancient Games at Olympia competed in the nude.34) Two real-life duels were fought as as result of disputes over scoring during the fencing competition at the 1924 Games.35) Docked two points for headbutting his opponent during a bantamweight bout during Seoul 1988, hometown boy Byun Jung-Il lost a 4-1 decision by the judges. He protested by sitting down in the ring and refusing to leave, eventually getting up 67 minutes later after match officials turned out the lights and left him in darkness.Sit in: Byun Jung-Il of South Korea stages a silent sit down protest at the 1988 Seoul Olympics36) Spain's left-wing government intended to hold a rival Olympics in 1936, in protest at the Games being held in Nazi Germany, and recruited 6,000 athletes to take part. However the Spanish Civil War broke out the day before they were due to begin in Barcelona.37) The London Olympic Park spans 500 acres - the same size as the Alton Towers theme park.38) More than 100 toads and 2,000 newts were saved from the Olympic Park site during construction.39) Takeichi Nishi, a Japanese show jumping gold medallist at the 1932 Los Angeles Games, died in 1945 at the battle of Iwo Jima, where he commanded the 26th Tank Regiment while wearing riding boots and jodphurs and carrying a whip.40) Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands asked for the 1928 Games to be rescheduled to fit in with her holiday in Norway. She failed.Demanding: Queen Wilhelmina wanted the Games rescheduled41) A total of 34 runners failed to complete the 1912 marathon in Stockholm. One, Francisco Lazaro, died during the race but a day later it emerged another runner was still unaccounted for. It emerged that Japan's Shizo Kanaguri, in a state of exhaustion, had stumbled off the course and into the garden of a family who were holding a picnic. They gave him raspberry juice and then put him to bed. When he awoke several hours later, shamed at his performance, he caught a train back to Stockholm and then a boat to Japan without telling anyone.42) Hitler only attended one football match at the 1936 Berlin Olympics and would have been unimpressed to see Germany lose 2-0 to Norway. However he did call for a quarter-final rematch after Peruvian fans allegedly invaded the pitch following their victory against Austria. The Peruvians went home in protest and Austria won silver.43) Great American Olympian Carl Lewis was booed before a 1993 NBA game between the Chicago Bulls and New Jersey Nets for an off-key rendition of The Star Spangled Banner. Having broken off halfway through to promise the crowd he would "make it up to you", he butchered the rest of the anthem and exited to catcalls.44) London's commitments as 2012 hosts include building a dance café and a flower shop in the Olympic Village.45) Italian marathon runner Carlo Airoldi walked to the 1896 games, covering 70km per day from Milan, passing through Austria and Turkey to reach Athens. At the end of his 28-day journey, has was informed that having accepted a prize for winning a Milan-to-Barcelona race, he was no longer an amateur and could not compete.46) Tough Australian quarantine rules meant that all the equestrian events at the 1956 Melbourne Games were held 9,700 miles away in Stockholm.47) Spectators were unable to watch the conclusion of the 1956 water polo match between Hungary and the USSR. Played out as Soviet tanks entered Budapest to put down an attempted revolution, police were forced to clear the arena when the Soviets' Valentin Prokopov punched Ervin Zador, causing blood to pour from his eye, and fans responded by jumping from the stands to the edge of the pool to spit at Prokopov and his team-mates. Hungary won 4-0.48) Streaking will be an expensive business at London 2012. Anyone caught will be fined up to £20,000.49) Cassius Clay - later Muhammad Ali - was so nervous about flying to Rome for the 1960 games that he bought a parachute from an army surplus store and wore it throughout the flight, often getting up to pray in the aisle.50) Ethiopia's Abebe Biikila won the 1960 Rome marathon barefoot because no pair of running shoes from official manufacturers adidas could be found which would comfortably fit his feet.Sole victor: Ethiopian athlete Abebe Bikila runs barefoot for victory in the Rome 1960 Olympic Games marathon51) American Billy Mills was so unfancied to win the 10,000m at Tokyo 1964 the US team's manufacturers denied him a pair of official running shoes, saying they were only to be used for potential winners. Having shattered his personal best by 46 seconds to claim gold, he was approached at the finish line by a Japanese race official who simply asked, "Who are you?" Mills was then denied a lap of honour because 37 others had yet to finish the distance.52) The infamous London 2012 logo, designed by Wolff Olins for a very reasonable £400,000, has been likened to "Lisa Simpson giving London a blow job".53) Britain's Ann Packer had planned to go shopping on the day of the 800m final at Tokyo 1964 but changed her mind after fiance Robbie Brightwell finished out of the medals in his 400m final. She won gold.54) Disqualified for interfering with an opponent in his 1956 steeplechase win, Chris Brasher appealed and a three-hour inquiry meant the medal ceremony was postponed until the next day. His appeal successful, Brasher went on a celebratory bender with the British press and later admitted he had received gold "blind drunk, totally blotto, with an asinine grin on my face, breathing gin fumes over the French member of the International Olympic Committee".55) Bob Beamon prepared for his 1968 world record long jump of 8.90metres - which stood for 23 years - by having a few shots of tequila the night before the event, followed by sex with his girlfriend Gloria.56) Mark Spitz had planned to shave off his famous moustache the night before his first swim at the 1972 Games in which he won seven golds. But he changed his mind after kidding Russian competitors that it made him swim faster because it kept water away from his mouth. “Next time, all the Russian swimmers had moustaches,” he said.Signature: US swimmer Mark Spitz and his distinctive moustache at the 1972 Olympics57) Waldi The Dachshund, created for the 1972 Munich Games, was the first Olympic mascot. He appeared in a variety of colour schemes, but none included red or black because those were the colours of Hitler's Nazis.58) Waldi proved so popular the 1972 Marathon route was arranged in the shape of his body.59) The most famous of all Colemanballs - "and there goes Juantorena down the back straight, opening his legs and showing his class" - wasn't said by David Coleman. Fellow BBC commentator Ron Pickering was responsible as the Cuban won 800m gold in the 1976 Montreal Games.60) Thirteen high-tech filters have been installed at the London 2012 Aquatic Centre to ensure the pools do not smell of chlorine.61) Every female competitor bar one at the 1976 Olympics had to undergo a sex test. The exception was Britain's Princess Anne.62) Today's athletes follow a strict nutritional plan and watch what they eat, but before the Olympics in ancient Greece athletes mostly ate cheese.63) When a rainstorm put out the Olympic flame during the 1976 Games in Montreal, organisers watched horrified as a helpful official quickly re-lit it with his cigarette lighter. They then snuffed it out again and re-lit it with a backup torch lit from the original flame.64) For the first time in Olympic history, Romania's Nadia Comaneci scored a maximum 10.0 in the uneven bars at Montreal 1976. Scoreboards were unable to cope and so displayed the score as 1.0.65) Heathrow Airport has built a special Games terminal for athletes departing from the London 2012 Games. It has 31 check-in desks and seven security lanes66) Ladbrokes are offering competitive odds of 2012-1 for the Loch Ness Monster to be spotted in the Thames during the London Olympics. Anyone seeking a dafter bet can take Paddy Power's 100-1 on Liverpool's Andy Carroll to score the winner in the Men’s Olympic Football final.67) Having won decathlon gold at the 1984 Los Angeles Games, Daley Thompson was asked by a US television crew to describe how he felt. Thompson went on to explain his euphoria to US viewers, saying: "I haven't been this happy since my granny caught her tit in a mangle."68) Thompson, wearing a T-shirt reading 'Is The World's Second-Greatest Athlete Gay?' - a presumed reference to the sexuality of American Carl Lewis - then told the British press that he would like to father a baby with Princess Anne.Monte FrescoProvocative: Daley Thompson celebrates after his gold medal success69) Organisers of the 2004 Athens Games were sued by a heritage society over mascots Athena and Phevos. Claiming they "savagely insulted" Ancient Greek culture, Dr Pan Marinis said the mascots "mock the spiritual values of the Hellenic Civilization by degrading these same holy personalities that were revered during the ancient Olympic Games".Insult: A heritage group sued over the 2004 mascots70) Despite winning bronze in the 10,000m at Munich 1972, Miruts Yifter was jailed for three months on his return to Ethiopia for failing to turn up for the 10,000m final. He blamed his coaches for delivering him late to the start line. Ethopia boycotted the 1976 Games but he won 5,000m and 10,000m gold at Moscow 1980.Jailed: But Miruts Yifter won in Moscow71) Before the 1984 Los Angeles Games, McDonald's ran a scratchcard promotion called 'When the US Wins, You Win'. Customers were given a card with the name of an event hidden underneath foil and told they would receive a free Coke if it matched an event in which the USA won bronze, free fries if they won silver and a free Big Mac if they won gold. Unfortunately, McDonald's bosses had based their expectations on the 1976 games, in which America won 94 medals, 34 of them gold. The Communist Bloc's boycott of the 1980 games ensured the USA won 174 medals, 83 of them gold, and McDonald's lost millions.72) A City of London police team beat the Liverpool Police to win the tug of war competition at the 1908 Olympics. The USA had pulled out at the quarter-final stage, protesting that the Liverpudlians had spikes on their service boots.73) Mala Sakonninhom of Laos recorded the staggering time of 15.12 seconds in the women's 100m at Seoul 1988 - roughly the same, according to experts, as an averagely talented high schooler would have managed. Florence Griffith Joyner somehow shaved over four and a half seconds off that time to win the final.74) Eleven years after his drugs shame at the 1988 Olympics, disqualified 100m gold medallist Ben Johnson was hired by Colonel Gadaffi as a fitness coach for his son Al-Saadi, who was attempting to build a career as a Serie A footballer with Perugia. Gadaffi Jnr managed one substitute appearance before failing a drug test.75) The traditional release of live doves at the Olympic opening ceremony was abandoned after Seoul 1988, when around 10 chose not to swoop majestically across the skies but instead to settle on the rim of the Olympic cauldron just as it was being lit and were instantly burned to death.76) Though cricket was included in the 1900 Paris Games, only two teams entered: Great Britain and a French team entirely comprised of British Embassy staff. Britain won.77) Barcelona's Olympic Stadium was built in 1927 as part of the bidding process for the 1936 Games, which were awarded to Munich, and had to wait 65 years before it eventually hosted the Games.78) Six of the eight contestants in the women's 800m in Amsterdam 1928 collapsed of heat exhaustion at the finish line and the event was not run again until 1960.79) During the test basketball event in London this year the Chilean national anthem was played for the Chinese team.80) Australia's Fred Lane is the only winner of an Olympic 200m obstacle race. In Paris 1900 he successfully negotiated a course which asked competitors to climb over a pole and clamber across a row of boats before swimming under another row of boats to reach the finish.81) Derided by Simpsons creator Matt Groening as "a bad marriage of the Pillsbury doughboy and the ugliest California Raisin", Atlanta 1996 mascot Whatizit, later renamed Izzy, remains unloved even by its creator John Ryan. Of the amorphous blue character sometimes called 'The Sperm in Sneakers', he said: "As a professional I wish it was something I had on the top of my CV... but it's the red-headed stepchild. I hope I have something else that I will be known for before I die."82) The 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympic Games mascot, "Whatizit?"83) The 1996 opening ceremony which featured a moving appearance by Muhammad Ali also featured 500 cheerleaders and 30 pick-up trucks, leading to Atlanta being dubbed The Bubba Games.84) Among lost property left behind at the Barcelona 1992 Games was a cheque for $40,000 and eight certificates guaranteeing that the bearer was female.85) During the gruelling men's individual cross country race at Paris 1924, held in 40C heat on a course which went past a factory billowing out smoke, British contestant Arthur Sewell became so disoriented he started running in the wrong direction. Pointed the right way by a helpful official, he promptly collided with another runner and had to retire. Sergio Aguillar of Spain did not finish after falling and hitting his head on a distance marker, while Finland's Heikki Liimatainen got within 30m of the finish line before turning off the course unexpectedly, convinced he had completed the race.86) The 2,818 apartments in the Olympic Village come complete with 5,000 toilet brushes.87) Equatorial Guinea swimmer Eric Moussambani Malonga - nicknamed Eric The Eel after swimming his 100m heat at the Sydney 2000 Games in 1:52:72 - was determined he would not again be an object of national ridicule in 2004. Having trimmed his personal best to 57 seconds, only nine seconds behind the world record time, he was not allowed to compete in Athens because officials mislaid his passport photograph.88) The Olympic Velodrome was the first Olympic Park venue to be completed, as far back as February 2011, and for around £93million, slightly under budget. After the Games, the 6,000-seat venue will be run under a joint agreement by British Cycling, the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority, the National Cycling Centre in Manchester and the Glasgow-based Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome.89) The London Philharmonic Orchestra took 50 hours of studio time to record the national anthems of all 205 competing nations at the 2012 Games.90) Boris Onischenko was kicked out of the 1976 Montreal Games' modern pentathlon after it was discovered his fencing epee had been modified so he could close a circuit within it, and thus score a point, without actually hitting his opponent. The former KGB half-colonel might have got away with it had suspicious Jim Fox not leaned back during one of his charges and seen Boris's tally increase by one despite not coming within six inches of the British captain. Boris was later dubbed 'Disonischenko'.Disonischenko: Soviet athlete Boris Onischenko cheated91) Having been disqualified from his taekwondo men's +80-kg bronze medal bout for taking too long to be treated for a foot injury, Cuban Angel Valodia Matos shoved the match referee out of the way in order to kick Swedish judge Chakir Chelbat in the head. Reflected Cuban coach Leudis Gonzalez: "The judge was too strict."He had to forego his bronze medal for the act.92) George Eyser won six medals, three golds, two silvers and a bronze, during a single day of the 1904 Olympics, despite having a wooden left leg. He lost his real one when it was run over by a train.93) Mongolia's only female marathon runner, Luvsanlkhundeg Otgonbayar, triumphed in the race for the wooden spoon at Athens 2004, finishing over an hour behind Japanese winner Mizuki Noguchi and half an hour behind the second-slowest competitor. "I felt like I was running very fast," she explained.94) In the 2001 BrassEye 'Nonce Sense' episode, future London 2012 committee chairman Lord Sebastian Coe was fooled into holding up 'before' and 'after' pictures of a paedophile which actually showed two different people - the members of 1980s hitmakers Hall & Oates. He also advised viewers to listen to the anti-paedophile message contained within a song he billed as "Keep Away From The Funny-Eyed Guy, by DJ Bob Hoskins Going Mental In A Dustbin".95) Four-time gold medallist Greg Louganis stunned many when he came out as gay in 1995, though possibly not those who had been party to his pre-dive ritual of singing Diana Ross' Believe In Yourself, taken from The Wiz - a musical film version of The Wizard of Oz in which Miz Ross played Dorothy.96) London 2012 mascots Wenlock and Mandeville have been hailed as "patronising, cretinous infantilism" and "appalling computerised Smurfs for the iPhone generation" by the influential design critic Stephen Bayley.97) Betty Robinson, 100m winner at the 1928 Amsterdam games, was in her cousin's biplane three years later when it crashed in Chicago. She was pulled from the wreckage with no pulse by a bystander who, believing her dead, put her in the boot of his car and drove her to a local mortician. In fact, Robinson was alive and after waking from a seven-month coma, recovered sufficiently to compete at the 1936 Berlin Games.98) Upset when his mount Ranchero refused at three jumps in the 1968 Mexico Games' modern pentathlon, knocking him out of medal contention, West Germany's Hans-Jurgen Todt leapt out of the saddle and began slapping the fussy horse. Team-mates had to restrain him.99) Southampton hosted motor boating events at the 1980 Games. Unfortunately, bad weather meant six of the nine events were cancelled, denying spectators the exciting prospect of watching craft whose average speed reached an astonishing 19mph.100) Possibly the all-time greatest Olympic performance came from Tunisia's modern penthatletes in Rome 1960, who failed to score a single point. All three contestants in the show jumping event fell off their horses before being removed from the shooting competition for firing dangerously close to the judges. One of them nearly drowned during the swimming. Finally, only one team member had experience of fencing, so the Tunisians sent him out again and again for the individual heats, cautioning him not to remove his mask. The ruse was discovered and they were disqualified.Bonus:Gandhi once covered the Olympics as a newspaper reporter. The 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles. It was right during his civil disobedient prime. But he did.The Olympic rings cover every flag in the world. They picked yellow, green, red, black and blue because at least one of those five colors appears in every flag in the world. (The five rings also allegedly represent the five continents of the world. But wait, you're saying, aren't there seven continents? Yes. But the Olympic committee has spun things to try to appease everyone. The way they've condensed the world into five continents: America, Asia, Africa, Europe and Oceania. Sorry, Antarctica. And apparently, we're now continent mates with Uruguay and Colombia. Cool.)Black athletes didn't win the marathon until 1960. It's impossible to picture now, but a black athlete didn't win the marathon until Abebe Bikila of Ethiopia did it in 1960. And he did it barefoot.. At this Olympics, Usain Bolt set a new world record, running the 100 meters in 9.69 seconds. And he kinda slowed down at the end..There's no count on just how many black athletes have broken the 10 second mark, but it happened first in 1968, and seems to have happened (at least) several hundred times since.Gold medals haven't been pure gold in 96 years. The 1912 Olympics was the last time that gold medals were solid gold. Ever since, they've been silver with gold plating.The equivalent of a bronze medal.The top prize at the first modern Olympics was the silver medal. In 1896 in Athens, first place winners got a silver medal and an olive branch. Second place got a bronze. Third place got nothing.In 1900, in France, winners got paintings instead of gold medals. Gold, silver and bronze medals weren't given out until the third modern Olympics, in 1904. The French gave winners paintings because they believed they were more valuable.The first Olympic drug suspension wasn't until 1968.At the 1968 Mexico City games, Hans-Gunnar Liljenwall, a Swedish pentathlete, was suspended because he tested positive for a banned substance. That substance: Alcohol. He drank several beers before the pentathlon... which was against the rules... so he was suspended.Frankly, he should've been applauded for attempting to do the pentathlon drunk. 99.999999999% of the world couldn't even do it sober.China didn't win its first medal until 1984. when Xu Haifeng won gold in the 50 meter pistol event. It's hard to believe now, since China seems to be a medal-winning monolith.The Olympics once lasted 187 days. In 1908, the London Olympics went on for 187 days... they started in April and didn't end until October.There's a 62-year age difference between the oldest and youngest Olympians ever. The youngest Olympian ever was Dimitrios Loundras, a Greek gymnast in the 1896 Athens Olympics. He was 10. The oldest Olympian ever was Oscar Swahn, a Swedish shooter in the 1920 Antwerp, Belgium, Olympics. He was 72.Sources:1. London 2012 Olympics Weird of the rings: 100 bizarre facts about the Olympic Games2. 11 Really Strange Olympics Facts