What does it take to be dominant in the world of sports? Well, the short answer seems to be money and steroids, but of course other factors exist (HGH, being scheduled against the Knicks, etc). But you just try telling that to those teams of researchers who occasionally pop up attempting to correlate wins and losses with uniform color.
One such study was conducted during the 2004 Olympics, with a focus on the judo competition, essentially concluding that athletes wearing blue robes had a sporting advantage over their counterparts decked out in white. Blue, the logic goes, is bolder and meaner looking than white, thus somehow psyching out all the lily-clad pansy boys. Blue, apparently, is the new red.
China won the right to host the 2008 Summer Olympics after overcoming political worries, environmental concerns and a knockdown-drag-out fight with Paris. China declared of Paris that "certain urban areas leave something to be desired when it comes to cleanliness. In particular, errant dogs and rabid dogs are increasingly numerous." Claude Bebear, the head of the Paris Olympic bid committee, shot back with "dogs are dogs...they do the same thing everywhere... It's just that there are no dogs in China - because they eat them." BURN!
So after that flame war, there's no way in hell China's going to let a little thing like water ruin the opening-day festivities: They've had some success in preventing light rain, as we've previously reported.
But at the same time that China is attempting to stop H2O from falling from the sky, they've also constructed a groundbreaking structure inspired by water bubbles (pictured above). The Beijing National Aquatics Center, or Water Cube, as it's affectionately called, is covered in 100,000 square meters of iridescent, Teflon-like plastic called ETFE. ETFE is only 0.08 of an inch think, but it can hold up to 300 times its weight. The Water Cube is said to mimic nature's way of filling space most efficiently — with bubbles — while also absorbing solar heat to warm the building and the pool. It's said to be one of the most sustainable buildings in the increasingly environmentally-aware China, who want to look good for the world come August.
While rappers around the world are obsessed with making it rain every month on time, Beijing just wants it to stop. In a "when you have a hammer the whole world looks like a nail" situation, the Beijing Meteorological Bureau has been assigned the job of preventing rain during the upcoming Olympics because, at least in part, there's no roof on the fancy new Bird's Nest stadium. And it's working. Mostly.
"Our experiments with rain mitigation have been aimed at light rain," Zhang Qian, head of weather manipulation at the bureau, told a conference. "With heavy rain it is more difficult. The results with light rain have been satisfactory."
That's right, don't worry about the poison air. Just stop the rain.
For realz, people-- the pollution in Beijing is no joke, forget what their government says. ("Nearly five times above World Health Organization standards for safety"-- apparently there's smog INSIDE the velodrome, for eff's sake.) And the US Olympic Committee's exercise physiologist, Randy Wilber, has to figure out what to do about it.
Acclimate the athletes somehow? NO. Unlike training for, say, high altitudes, having prolonged exposure to sulfur dioxide, ozone and particulate matter won't make your body "used to it."
Wear masks while competing? Nope. Big political faux pas. The Chinese don't want 4 billion people watching images of gold medals being draped over facemasks.
Get approved for drugs? Maybe. Wilber's running tests for exercise-induced asthma (which pollution this extreme can exacerbate). The inhalers used to treat it contain a drug banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency, but if he can prove it's necessary to the I.O.C., some athletes could use them.
Train in a nearby non-hellhole, then take your chances on the day? Yup. Wilber has scouted training locations in South Korea, Japan, Singapore and Malaysia, and recommended that athletes "wear specially designed masks over their noses and mouths from the minute they step foot in Beijing until they begin competing."
China won the right to host the 2008 Summer Olympics after overcoming political worries, environmental concerns and a 
For realz, people-- the pollution in Beijing is no joke, forget what their government says. (
