Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Entertainment/2021 July 27

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July 27

Why Olympics happens only for 2 weeks?

Is there any reason for this? Even football world cups happens for 1 month. Rizosome (talk) 10:15, 27 July 2021 (UTC)

They don't. There are 17 days between opening and closing ceremonies, inclusive, and several events start several days before the opening ceremony. For football tournaments, you have the same teams playing all the way through, so they need rest days. Especially in the last rounds there are whole days without matches. In the Olympics, many events are a single day, and there are many in parallel. There is no reason to make it longer. Fgf10 (talk) 10:57, 27 July 2021 (UTC)

To add to this, I tallied up the recent Euro 2020 football tournament. Although it lasted 31 days, there were only 22 actual playing days, and 9 days without games. The official Olympic schedule runs from day -2 to day 16, including day 0, for a total of 19 days of competitions (every day has events), so it's actually only 3 days shorter than the Euros in terms of days where things actually happen. Fgf10 (talk) 15:00, 27 July 2021 (UTC)

Because that's what the organizers decided to do? The early games lasted as long as the organizers set up, from as long as several months (as in the 1900 Summer Olympics) to as short as 4-5 days (as in the 1904 Summer Olympics). The about two to two and a half weeks time span (generally between 14-17 days depending on the year) seems to date back to the 1928 Summer Olympics. Before that, the time span was somewhat variable. --Jayron32 10:59, 27 July 2021 (UTC)

Another possible factor is that before 1988, participants had to be amateurs - see Amateur sports#Olympics. While the Communist Bloc gave their athletes sinecures such as sports centre manager to get around the rules, Western athletes had real day jobs to go back to, and a month off work is a big ask for an employer. Alansplodge (talk) 15:54, 27 July 2021 (UTC)

Even when Obama was president there were ads where a nationwide big box store would show Team USA athlete(s) doing their day job and it was always something non-sports and at least vaguely house-/hardware-related, for they are a category killer. They showed their sports or events (ones where at least some of the most skilled Americans are still willing to train less than they'd like if they at least get part-time paint salesman money. Like biathlon maybe? We actually suck at biathlon and it's not popular here) Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 21:52, 27 July 2021 (UTC)

And the Winter Olympics are even shorter? (... especially if all the show melts.) Martinevans123 (talk) 16:08, 27 July 2021 (UTC)

The 2018 Winter Olympics ran from the 8th through the 25th, which is 18 days. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 20:47, 27 July 2021 (UTC)

If Australia doesn't get it this century man will probably smite itself into nuclear winter before they get another chance. The downhill will be won by survivors using Mad Max-style motorcycle pipes flattened and tied to their feet. Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 21:54, 27 July 2021 (UTC)

Watching the Winter Games in July would be different. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 00:24, 28 July 2021 (UTC)

I've always wonder if there would ever be a Winter Olympics in the southern hemisphere. On the flip side the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne were held from 22 November to 8 December. It was interesting to see Santa and other Christmas decorations throughout the city in the documentary included in this box set. Another factoid was that the equestrian events for that Olympiad were held in Stockholm due to quarantining restrictions on livestock in Australia. MarnetteD|Talk 03:01, 28 July 2021 (UTC)

There's one, maybe 2 Fridays a year where you can start 17-day Winter Olympics with little to no overlap with soquér, football, basketball, hockey, post-August baseball or Major League Soccer, Australian or subcontinent cricket, MLB All-Star Breaks, Grand Slam tennis, golf, cycling or sumo majors, big 3 US horse races, Little League World Serieses, poker final tables, big 4 US entertainment award shows, big 3 US music award shows, Daytime Emmys, new TV episodes, major summer movie releases, summer schoolers, Labor Day beauty pageants or US holidays in general but lots of overlap with sweaty TV owners, it might work. Recent Summer Olympics hang out around here too (sumo grand slam tournaments happen every odd-numbered Gregorian month forever, July ones end on its 3rd or 4th Sunday, I wonder what's the rule that chooses 3 or 4 (on years without big July events competing for sumo fans' attention)) Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 04:53, 28 July 2021 (UTC)

One thing the OP failed to consider is that there are lots and lots of events at the Games, and that unrelated events have overlapping time slots. If they were to run the events consecutively, one at a time, the Olympics would run for a very long time. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 03:45, 28 July 2021 (UTC)

As I already said in my reply, yes. Fgf10 (talk) 06:59, 28 July 2021 (UTC)

• And that'd be the idea. By spreading the time, some of the huge amount of money now wast-- er, now consumed on multiple facilities for all those overlapping events could be saved. But this is not a forum for debating the question, so never mind. --184.144.99.72 (talk) 20:38, 28 July 2021 (UTC)

It doesn't much matter, as the OP has apparently moved on to other things. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 12:29, 28 July 2021 (UTC)

Are they on the shot put yet? Martinevans123 (talk) 13:09, 28 July 2021 (UTC)

Sega Genesis production

Two questions:

Is there a reason why Sega hasn't manufactured adapters neither for Sega Genesis nor for Sega Genesis Mini, so that a third-party adapter is required to power it up?

When I bought Sega Genesis Mini from Amazon, it turned out that the bottom has "Made in China" label, despite of "Sega Games Co. Ltd." inscribed nearby. Assuming it's not another Chinese fake (the model number and serial number are inscribed as well), is it because of cheaper labor force in China or something else? I found it strange that even the Japanese technology is made in China. Thanks. 212.180.235.46 (talk) 16:46, 27 July 2021 (UTC)

Wikipedia has several articles covering things that are Made in China; China specifically has both 1) lower labor costs and 2) numerous capital advantages that make it advantageous for many types of manufacturing, especially in the technology sector. --Jayron32 17:46, 27 July 2021 (UTC)

Actually, don't read that article. The introduction is so poorly written that it is painful to read. --Khajidha (talk) 18:11, 27 July 2021 (UTC)

You could also read Industry of China or Electronics industry in China or any of a number of other articles about the Economy of China. --Jayron32 18:15, 27 July 2021 (UTC)

Advantages of Manufacturing in China and the Benefits It Brings to your Business. Alansplodge (talk) 18:41, 29 July 2021 (UTC)