Vancouver 2010

Anybody ever watch "The Colbert Report"? Well I do. Anyways, the Winter Olympics started in Vancouver this week, and most of the competitions have something to do with snow or ice or something of that nature. Because of that, the friction on the surface of whatever the athletes are on is very low, so they have skis or boards to fly down the slopes, or skates in bobsledding or speedskating. Since they are low friction, it takes a lot of technique and work to get good at winter games. Anyways, back to Stephen Colbert. If you didn't know he sponsored the US speedskating team on his show, and highlighted some of the competitions,like skeleton racing. In his words "If you want to experience skeleton, lie on the sidewalk and crap your pants." It is like a cross between bobsleding and downhill luge. Anyways, from starting at the top of the track, and sliding down on the ice, they reach high speeds and gain a lot of momentum. With all those turns, they need to control the centrifugal force on the turns. I'm not sure how they slow down at the end, but they do. Enclosed is a picture of Stephen Colbert, you can check out more at http://www.colbertnation.com/