DailyBeast.com: Wacky Olympic Mascots Over Time
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Wacky Olympic Ma...
The symbol of this year’s games—two personified drops of steel that look curiously like a male body part—is the latest in a rich tradition of quirky mascots. From tigers and bears to beavers and dolls, see more.
(Photos: Getty Images for LOCOG ; AFP / Getty Images ; IOC ; Bettmann / Corbis)
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1972 Munich Summ...
Waldi, the first-ever official Olympic mascot, was based on a real-life German dachshund named Fritz (seen here looking very world-weary while he poses with his toy likenesses). Waldi went over big that year: the marathon track was designed in the shape of the popular Bavarian dog.
(Photos: Bettmann / Corbis)
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1976 Innsbruck W...
The first mascot for the Winter Olympics, held in Innsbruck, Austria, was a stylized schneemann (German for snowman). The mascot, chosen to represent the "Games of Simplicity," was made even friendlier by his jaunty traditional hat.
(Photo: AP Photo)
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1976 Montreal Su...
Like Schneemann, Amik has a name that just describes what he is—amik means "beaver" in the Anishinaabe language. Native to Canada, the beaver was chosen to represent the Games because of its reputation for hard work.
(Photo: IOC)
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1980 Lake Placid...
Roni the Raccoon was named for the Adirondack range. The name was also conveniently close to "Rocky," the name of the event's first mascot, a live raccoon that died before the Games. To reflect the sports of the Winter Olympics, Roni wore ice skates, and the designs on his face represented the goggles many athletes wear.
(Photo: IOC)
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1980 Moscow Summ...
Designed by children's book illustrator Victor Chizhikov, Misha the bear cub wore a multicolored belt with a buckle shaped like the Olympic rings. He was the result of a nationwide contest for the best illustration of a bear, a symbol of the Soviet Union.
(Photo: AP Photo)
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1984 Sarajevo Wi...
Vu?ko the Wolf was also chosen by contest, beating out a chipmunk, a lamb, a mountain goat, a porcupine, and a snowball. Tough competition! Readers of newspapers across Yugoslavia voted on their favorite, and soon enough the red-nosed wolf was ready to visit the opening ceremonies.
(Photo: AP Photo)
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1984 Los Angeles...
Of course, the first American summer Olympic mascot was named for Uncle Sam. Designed by an artist for Disney, Sam the Eagle is still hard at work: he shows up every year at the Mt. San Antonio College Relays track and field event.
(Photo: Tony Duffy / Getty Images)
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1988 Calgary Win...
The Calgary Zoo sponsored a contest to name these two Western-themed polar bears, eventually dubbing them Hidy and Howdy after sifting through 7,000 entries. Though the twin bears have retired from public life, they did make a cameo appearance in the classic Winter Olympics movie “Cool Runnings.”
(Photo: AP Photo/IOC)
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1988 Seoul Summe...
A Siberian tiger, Hodori's name is derived from horangi, the Korean word for "tiger." That hat also has special cultural significance: it's a sangmo hat used in a traditional Korean dance that involves performers swinging their heads to make the ribbons on their hats move. But it seems that Hodori's was just for decoration.
(Photo: David Cannon / Getty Images)
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1992 Albertville...
Originally, the mascot for these Olympics was Chamois the Mountain Goat, but he eventually lost out to Magique the Snow Imp. Chosen to represent "dreams and imagination", Magique now regularly appears on lists of the worst Olympic mascots.
(Photo: IOC)
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