Statistics and lies

A classic expression is “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.” The quote comes from Benjamin Disraeli and was popularized in the United States by Mark Twain. Still, statistics and graphs can be used to illustrate just about anything efficiently; this is the very reason that Florence Nightingale used and extended the at the time existing pie chart.



More hilarious graphs available over at The Atheist Network.

Magic Moments: The 1904 Olympics

With the 2008 Olympics in Beijing having come to an end, it is easy to become nostalgic. Generally, when talking about the Olympics, it is often common to talk about the amazing athletes, and the records they set when competing. Beijing 2008 have been no exception; but Phelps and Bolt aside, there have been more memorable Olympics in the past, of which is not as often talked about.

The 1904 Olympics in St. Louis was, to say the least, one of the most peculiar Olympics that have even been held. Besides competing in sports, the organizers held "Anthropology Days" where men from all over the world competed in various events in order for anthropologists to see how they compared to the white man. There was also a war exposition about the Boer War. In today's world these things sound very distant, as Olympics are all about sports. These particular Olympics where, besides the addition of certain ethnic oddities, the home of 18 disciplines, comprising 16 sports. Among these sports where Roque (with USA being the only nation competing) and tug-of-war. But the real focus was on the athletes competing in these games.

For surely, how can Phelps, Bolt or any other modern athlete compete with George Eyser? Eyser competed in the 12-event All-around competition, and did finish last in the 100 yard dash, the long jump and the shot put; in total he finished on 71st place individually, having been in the 10th place after the 9 event all-around. This may sound like bad results, but Eyser took 6 medals during the games: 3 gold medals, in rope climbing, vault and parallel bars. 2 silver medals, in combined 4 events and pommel horse. Finally he received a bronze in horizontal bar. So, what makes George Eyser so unique? Well, unlike Phelps and Bolt, George Eyser had a wooden leg, which would account for his problems of keeping up in the 100 yard dash. Yet still, he wasn't the most memorable in these games.

Marathon of the century

For the 1904 Olympics also featured a marathon. A marathon whose events probably hopefully will never be matched. The marathon spanned a distance of 40km (24.85 miles), most of which was on dusty roads. It was run under very harsh conditions, partly due to dust clouds created by the vehicles and horses clearing the way, but also due to immense heat. To top it of, in that 33° C heat, there was only a single place for the runners to refill their water.

The race began at 3 p.m., about the hottest point of the day. After the initial 5 laps on the cinder track the runners, all 31, ran off into St. Louis. In front of them, a group of horsemen and a number of automobiles transporting coaches, journalists, race officials and policemen cleared the way for the runners. The problem with the cars was, running on the dry, dusty roads caused them to kick up a constant cloud of dust; this cloud conveniently positioned itself right on the pack of runners. This, the heat and the lack of water due to the single source of water along the course, about 12 miles from the start, led to predictable results: one competitor began vomiting after 10 miles and had to quit. Another was discovered lying in the road, near death, his stomach nearly destroyed by the dust.

The initial winner of the marathon was a man called Frederick Lorz. He had crossed the finishing line after 3 hours and 13 minutes, and was greeted by a cheering audience. As the presidential daughter was about to hand him the gold medal, it was discovered that he had not run the entire distance. Lorz, having being exhausted, had stopped running and collapsed after about 9 miles. His manager had then given him a lift in his car for the next eleven miles, after which it broke down. Not having the patience to wait for a repairman to come fix the car, and also having regained his strength while riding in the car, Lorz then continued on foot the last part of the race to the stadium where he was the first to cross the finishing line. Needless to say, Lorz was disqualified.

The second winner of the marathon, and the first to complete the race on his own, was a man called Thomas Hicks. Although he did run the entire race, Hicks in no way managed it on his own. When he crossed the finishing line some 25 minutes after Lorz, several spectators reported him being exhausted and delirious. Apparently Hicks had been about to collapse some 10 miles before the finishing line, whereas his doctors had fed him a rejuvenating mixture consisting of strychnine, egg whites and brandy. This had given him new strength, and he had been able to run again. The problem with the cure was that it didn't help very long, so every time his strength would fail, the doctors would give him another doze. When he finally collapsed after finishing the race, 4 doctors had to spend several hours to save his life. Since the use of strychnine and alcohol wasn't forbidden at the time, Hicks was till considered the winner. He retired the following day.

Andarín Carvajal, the man coming in at fourth place, also earned a special place in history. Carvajal was originally a mailman in his home country Cuba, but had raised money to get to St. Louis by running around the large central square in Havana until he attracted a crowd and then begged for contributions. The money he earned this way had bought him a ticket to America; problem was, when arriving in New Orleans he fell victim to gambling, and lost all the money on crabs. By begging for food and hitchhiking the rest of the way, he finally had arrived at the games. Having lost everything, Carvajal showed up at the start of the marathon in long pants, a long-sleeved shirt, and dress shoes. Martin Sheridan, the gold winner in discus, upheld the start long enough to cut the pants into a pair of shorts with a pair of scissors.

Being one of the few competitors not being bothered by the lousy conditions, Carvajal held a high pace and was leading the race a long time. This didn't stop him from showing how happy he was to be able to compete in the Olympics though. Many times he was found chatting to bystanders, running backwards and even stealing a couple of peaches from an official. This craving for something to eat would prove to be his downfall. During one point of the race, he spotted an apple orchard where he jumped over the fence and ate several apples. Some time later he fell ill since the apples had been bad, and he decided to take a nap. When feeling better, Carvajal picked up pace and finished fourth.

Two of the runners in the marathon where the first two black Africans to compete in the Olympics, Len Taunyane and Jan Mashiani. What was so special about them was that they actually weren't there to be a part of the Olympics; they were actually posing as tribe warriors on the Boer War exposition. Still, they competed in the marathon and finished 9th and 12th. It is believed that Taunyane would have done much better, had he not been chased nearly a mile off course by aggressive dogs.

Olympics flashback: 1904 marathon a joke of a race
Sports reference - 1904 Marathon
History news network - The Worst of the Modern Olympics Was Held
Wikipedia - 1904 Summer Olympics