
Berlin’s 1936 Summer Olympics generated a great deal of controversy (we all know how that feels). For Adolf Hitler, the occasion served to further the Nazi party’s doctrine of white supremacy. A number of nations discussed boycotting the Games due to grave worries about the safety of Jewish athletes in addition to moral grounds. However, a few inspirational moments were able to come through. Jesse Owens, an African American sprinter, won four gold medals, and two Japanese athletes established the ‘Medals of Friendship.’
Olympic Pole Vault in 1936
Eighty-five years ago, in front of 25,000 spectators, American pole vaulter Earle Meadows achieved an impressive height of 4.35 meters. That was sufficient to win him an Olympic gold medal in Berlin. Three athletes, Shuhei Nishida of Japan, Sueo Oe of Japan, and American Bill Sefton, contested for second place. The two Japanese men cleared the jump-off height, but Sefton did not. The exact same outcome was obtained by Nishida and Oe, so the final standings were still up in the air. Nishida and Oe steadfastly refused to jump again for the silver, despite the judges’ wishes.
Do you know the story behind the 'medals of friendship'? 🎥https://t.co/oA6a8zGP0z #friendship #Olympic pic.twitter.com/J3VIzx15zg
— Athlete365 (@Athlete365) June 11, 2017
In addition to being elite athletes, the two were also close friends. They therefore asked the Olympic organizers if they could share the silver medal because they respected one another’s abilities. On this occasion, the judges steadfastly declined. The Japanese team was instructed to determine amongst themselves which medal each member should take home.
The Reason for the Dilemma
Nishida would accept the silver, it was decided after some consideration. There are numerous theories explaining how they arrived at this conclusion. The most widely accepted explanation claims that Oe won the bronze medal because he successfully cleared the 4.25-meter jump on his second try, while Nishida did so on his first. Nonetheless, some reports also assert that Nishida’s age played a role in the choice. Oe had reverence for his “senpai,” a person in a higher hierarchical position than he was, usually because of their age, despite being four years younger. Nevertheless, according to other reports, Oe, a student at Keio University, accepted the bronze because, as the younger athlete, he had a better chance of winning gold at the next Olympics and thought it would be better to give Nishida the silver medal. However, all of these theories stand at odds with what the two men did next.
Evidently dissatisfied with the competition’s official results, they resolved to resolve the issue on their own.
Making the Friendship Medals
Nishida and Oe asked a jeweler to cut both medals in half when they got back to Japan. After that, they had the bronze and silver portions fused together to produce two awards they believed more accurately represented their true achievements. A mixed-metal silver-bronze medal for every competitor. Eventually, the two medals were referred to as “the medals of friendship.”
友情のメダルを見ることできました。Do you know about this story??@Tokyo2020 pic.twitter.com/rFBwWEYhJK
— Koji Murofushi PhD 室伏広治 (@KojiMurofushi) November 27, 2017
It does not imply that they lacked competition. The plan was for Nishida and Oe to rematch at the 1940 Olympics, which was originally scheduled for Tokyo but was eventually rescheduled to Helsinki and eventually canceled entirely when World War II broke out. The two athletes would have had another chance to compete at an Olympics in 1952, but Oe was tragically killed in the conflict. Nishida finally passed away in 1997 from heart failure at the age of 87. The Japan Association of Athletics Federations (JAAF), of which Nishida was the honorary vice chairman, gave Waseda University, where he was a student, his medal of friendship in 2005. It is still there as of right now.
It’s critical to keep in mind that the Olympics have other purposes besides competition. It also represents friendship and tranquility. This tale perfectly captures that.

The true story of Josephine Myrtle Corbin, the lady born with four legs and two private parts
Josephine Myrtle Corbin, an American sideshow performer born in 1868, had a rare condition known as dipygus, which caused her to have four legs, each smaller inner leg paired with one of her outer legs. Corbin joined the sideshow circuit, captivating audiences as the "Four-Legged Girl from Texas."

15 interesting facts about Queen Elizabeth II
Queen Elizabeth II, who ruled Britain for 70 years, has away at the age of 96. She was the country's longest-reigning monarch. Here are some little-known facts about her.

3 men lived on top of a billboard in tents for almost 9 months
From 1982-1983, three men in Allentown PA competed in a radio contest in which they lived on top of a billboard in tents. Whoever stayed up longest would win a house. Due to economic pressure from the recession, none of the contestants wanted to give up, so the contest lasted almost 9 months.

The Amazing Truth About The German U-Boat That Was Sunk By A Toilet
During WWII, a German captain and an engineer flushed the submarine's high-tech toilet incorrectly, causing the vessel to rapidly fill with water. British planes patrolling the sea attacked them as the submarine was brought to the surface. While many members of the crew were killed in the attack, the captain escaped!

The Bizarre (And Magical) Duel Between Chung Ling Soo And Ching Ling Foo
Ching Ling Foo and Chung Ling Soo were two magicians from the early 20th century who were bitter rivals. While Ching Ling Foo was genuinely Chinese, Chung Ling Soo was actually a New Yorker named William Robinson.

The History Behind the “No One Dies Alone” Program
In 1986, while doing a night shift at the hospital, Sandra Clarke, a registered nurse, was asked by an elderly patient to stay. She promised to be back after checking on her other patients, but by the time she returned, the gentleman had passed away. Clarke became one of the key figures in launching No One Dies Alone, a program that allows volunteers to sit with terminal patients who have no one else.

Why This Belgian Bar Makes You Trade Your Shoe for a Beer
To prevent tourists from stealing their beer glasses, some bars in Belgium require people to hand over one of their shoes as a deposit which is then put in a basket and hung from the ceiling. These shoe baskets have also become an attraction.

8 Interesting Facts About The Unsinkable Ship, TITANIC
If you ask your friends what's the most famous ship in history the answer in most cases will be the same, of course the legendary Titanic. Its history is full of mysteries, at first it was a source of hope and national pride as well as proof of the triumphs of mankind but it soon became a source of nostalgia and pain, the extent of which cannot be described in words.

What Was the Beast of Gévaudan?
Between 1764 and 1767, a mysterious animal called the Beast of Gévaudan terrorized the French village called Gévaudan. It attacked and killed about 100 adults and children. While most believe it was a wolf, some say it may have been a wolf-dog hybrid, hyena or even a lion, but without any genetic evidence, the beast will remain a mystery forever.

The history of Flour sack clothing fashion
After Kansas mill owners found women reused flour sack materials into apparel in the 1920s and 1930s, they started applying patterned designs to give families with more fashionable patterns and material.

How did Howard Florey discover penicillin
Penicillin was discovered by Alexander Fleming, but he never attempted to turn it into an antibiotic. It wasn't until ten years later that Howard Florey discovered Fleming's obscure paper and understood the mold's potential. Up to 200 million lives may have been saved as a result of Florey's work.

Vince Coleman, a railway dispatcher, sacrificed his own life
Vince Coleman, a railway dispatcher, sacrificed his life in order to warn an incoming train of an imminent explosion. His telegraph said “Hold up the train. Ammunition ship afire in harbor making for Pier 6 and will explode. Guess this will be my last message. Good-bye, boys.” He saved 300 lives.

Irena Sendler: woman who rescued Jews during holocaust
Irene Sendler was the Zegota resistance group's head of the children's department. She risked her life to smuggle children out of the Warsaw ghetto, place them with Polish families or orphanages, give each child a new identity, and keep records so that they could be returned to their families. In 1943, the Gestapo arrested and sentenced her to death, but she was rescued by Zegota.

The Mouth of Truth: Ancient Rome’s Legendary "Lie Detector" That Bit Off Hands
Discover the chilling legend of the Mouth of Truth (Bocca della Verità) in Ancient Rome—a massive carved stone face believed to bite off the hand of anyone who lied while inserting their hand into its gaping mouth. Uncover the truth behind its eerie reputation and how this ancient artifact became a symbol of honesty and fear.

The Littlest Skyscraper: How J.D. McMahon’s 480-Inch Con Fooled Investors in 1919
In 1919, J.D. McMahon convinced investors to fund a 480-foot skyscraper, but he labeled the plans as 480 inches, building a 40-foot structure instead. After taking $200,000, he won in court since the plans matched what he built.

Inside The Mysterious Death Of The Famed Gothic Writer Edgar Allan Poe
Hours before his death Edgar Allen Poe was found on the streets of Baltimore. He was incoherent, wearing another man’s clothes, and unable to explain how he got there. The cause of his death is an unsolved mystery.

Terry Fox, a 21-year-old one-legged cancer patient who ran 143 days before dying
Terry Fox was a 21-year-old one-legged cancer patient who ran 3,339 miles across Canada in 143 days before dying.

How European Rabbits Took over Australia
In 1859, wealthy settler Thomas Austin released 13 wild rabbits on his Australian estate. By 1920, their population grew to 10 billion.

story of the youngest mother in the world at age of five - Lina Medina
Lina Medina, a five-year-old Peruvian girl, became the youngest mother in history in 1939 when she gave birth to a boy.

The unbroken seal on King Tutankhamun's tomb until 1922
The unbroken seal of Tutankhamun's tomb before it was opened in 1923, it was unbroken for over 3000 years.

Nearest Green, America's first known Black master distiller
Nathan "Nearest" Green was an African-American head stiller who is now more frequently referred to as a master distiller. He was renowned for imparting his distilling knowledge to Jack Daniel, the creator of Jack Daniel's Tennessee whiskey distiller, after Jack Daniel was freed from slavery following the American Civil War.

Tunnels Dug by ancient giant sloths, A South American Megafauna
For years, scientists didn’t know what caused mysterious cave networks in South America. In 2010, they learned that the caves were actually tunnels dug by ancient giant sloths

The touching story of David Vetter (bubble boy), the 'boy who lived in a bubble
David Vetter lived his whole 12 years in sterile “bubble”. He was “outside” for 20 second after being removed from his mother’s womb. He never touched any human.

10 world’s most destructive and dangerous volcanic eruptions in history
Volcanic eruptions can devastate cities, change the world's atmosphere, and devastate economic systems. They can create molten lava rivers, mudslides, suffocating ash, and poisonous gases that cause chaos around the world for years. A volcanic explosion's effects can be massive, from its size to its death toll to its economic cost. Here is ten world’s most destructive and dangerous volcanic eruptions in history.

The Assassination Of King Alexander
The assassination of King Alexander of Yugoslavia marked a pivotal moment in the country's history. This article delves into the rise and reign of King Alexander, exploring his early life and ascension to the throne. It also examines the political and social climate in interwar Yugoslavia, setting the stage for the tensions and challenges that ultimately culminated in his tragic assassination. By understanding the context in which this event unfolded, we can better grasp the significance and impact it had on the nation and its future.