Dang… Probably has that same sorta crumbly over porous texture of costume jewelry that was just plated.
France bragged this was the cheapest Olympics I guess that was a promise fully kept in all areas.
Cheapcore
Prooooooobably won’t be buying anything from them if their medals fall apart this quickly, haha.
Do they not coat or treat the medals in some way to prevent this from happening, or is this just some weird fluke with this one medal? For all the egregious ways the IOC wastes money, I feel like the actual medals, themselves, would be one of the last places they’d cut corners.
Could it be that the protection can’t withstand exposure to alcohol? Just a thought. :P
That would be a tremendous oversight.
*After reading the article*
Patina is one thing but the front chipping is nuts.
I keep seeing all the athletes biting them.
You can bite into lead. You can’t bite into gold, silver and bronze. That’s why it used to be a test for fake coins. If the chips are bite marks, the metal’s really low grade.
You have it backwards. Gold is extremely malleable and you can easily leave marks in pure gold by biting it.
I believe gold is soft and will show bite marks?
I have had $10 jewelery from K-Mart that never chipped no matter what abuse I put it through.
I’d check their hand lotions for sulfur based compounds. The quick way to patina copper is with boiled egg yolks because they contain sulfur.
But also why didn’t the IOC just throw on some clear coat?
That trucoat is a bargain, eh.
See, they install that TruCoat at the factory. There’s nothing we can do about that.
They spent the funds for clear coat on those selfie cameras
Those are an AD, they are all the brand new samsung flip phone. Its only to show them with it in hand.
I wouldn’t have known it was a Samsung phone if you didn’t say anything… wasn’t a good ad until you mentioned it. I just thought it was a dumb selfie thing.
The only reason I saw it was all the ads plastered for it like every other ad break, thank what ever stars you live in an area that isnt just beating it into your skull every 5 min.
Oh I watched on CBC 😂. I ain’t watching on anything that has actual ads (there’s ads, but they’re Canadian)
I mean, what can you expect if you only win bronze. Not like that’s a phenomenal achievement most people never even get close too. Seriously though, France should be embarrassed at this.
Crafted with copper from Minecraft
They deserve it for only “winning” bronze.
If yer not first, yer last Ricky Bobby!
Just being selected to the Olympics means the person is amongst the best in the world.
Even those that end last are better in their sport than most others on the planet.
First or GTFO!
Don’t take everything serious on the internet.
Especially from the president of the universe.
I wouldn’t put it past a medalist to wear that thing constantly and get it covered with sweat and oil, that’d def cause this to happen so quickly
Touching bronze actually removes the patina.
There are statues where the parts people touch a lot look almost golden.
Like the one of the busty lady in Ireland whose boobs look gold from people touching them. The name of the statue is escaping me, but maybe someone else will remember.
Molly Malone (or The Tart with the Cart)
Like the one of the busty lady in Ireland whose boobs look gold from people touching them. The name of the statue is escaping me, but maybe someone else will remember.
Molly Malone.
Thank you! It was driving me a little crazy that couldn’t think of her name
Honestly the first thing I thought too. Wear it for a day and then put it up, man
I’d at least grease it. Sweat is an entirely different beast on a 4000 calorie diet and chewing salt tabs like candy. Bike lube on zippers, whole 9 yards
Bronze would not get that bad that quickly.
I have a bronze coin I made about 6 years ago. It’s been handled by more people than I can count, but it sits for months in a box in my garage.
It still looks very much like bronze, just slightly darker in the crevices.
This just looks like piss poor electroplating.
Yeah, if anything when you look at bronze statutes that have been in the elements for decades, the parts that people touch are the shiny, nice-looking parts.
He said himself he wore it while sweaty and let his friends wear it as well. Doesn’t give an excuse for the damned thing degrading in a week.
But sure, criticize the winner not the people who made it. Typical.
Friend, it’s bronze. Silver and bronze do this. I’m not criticizing him or the medal, I’m pointing out that it’s a metal that tarnishes. Copper does this. If you’re that active your sweat is gonna have a lot of ammonia in it and when you wring your shirt out it’s straight up chalky from all the salts.
People acting like bronze doesn’t do this but in fact bronze does this. With enough time under these conditions it’s gonna turn green and start pitting. It’s called bronze rot.
The excuse for this happening is that it has copper in it, full stop.
I seriously doubt this fast. The Olympics have always had bronze medals. This is the first time we’re seeing this…
With enough time
A week is enough time? Nah.
it’s gonna turn green and start pitting
Neither of those have happened - it’s tarnished brown and chipped but not green nor pitted.
It’s called bronze rot.
This isn’t bronze rot. This is poor quality plating that’s being stripped by bodily oils in less than a week. I’ve bought bronze-plated cheap Chinese jewellery that’s lasted for years under strenuous conditions before greening or pitting.
That ain’t bronze.
US skateboarder learns about oxidization for the first time.
that looks more like a plating that came off than patina
So…your point is that it’s a widely known process, and that the manufacturer didn’t know/choose to coat it because they’re not being cheap?
I googled it and it looks like the time required for this to happen naturally means your downvotes are justified.
So what do you think this is, if not natural patina? Unnatural patina? Olympic person secretly rubbing black stuff on their medal and posting it on Instagram for views? Do you think the Olympic committee intentionally purchased medals plated in something other than brass that would patina faster? Or do you think it’s not brass and some other metal that oxidizes at a faster rate? I think it would take more effort to create a medal that patinas at a faster rate than it would to just create a medal plated in plain old brass or bronze.
Brass left alone in a clean environment will oxidize very slowly, because it’s just in contact with oxygen and electrolytes from the air. Metal oxidizes much faster in certain conditions, such as when it is regularly exposed to large amounts of oxygen and electrolytes, such as those found water and acid. Some examples of things that oxidize metals faster include being in regular contact with body oils, salty sweat, or chemicals like sunscreen or body lotion. Do you think any of these substances may have gotten on a medal being worn by an athlete in the summer for a week?
Go get a piece of brass siding from the hardware store. Don’t put any sealant on it. Wear it around your neck for a week and see what happens to it.
I think the brass plating chipped off and we’re seeing what’s underneath.
I feel like I’m taking crazy pills. Y’all motherfuckers never handled a metal other than stainless steel before. Can’t wait to be vindicated when someone tells this dude to clean it with vinegar and see what happens.
But does that explain the front chipping, as stated in the article? Especially after, what, 5-7 days, at most?
Yeah but those so valuable POSTERS they get
Grab a spray can and clear coat them as soon as they hang it around your neck lol
I was about to say I’m surprised they didn’t lacquer them.
Not good for the environment
And the manufacture of Bronze is?
Maybe bronze is a pretty complicated metal to work with. Humanity has only been using it for what, five thousand years, give or take several centuries? We probably just need to gain more experience with it before they’ll come out looking as good as our stone medals.
Ea-Nasir strikes again.
I burst out laughing because I did not expect such a deep historical cut
You went to Ur in 1750 BC that is some fantastic linkage
I had to look this up.
