The Beijing Olympics came to an end yesterday, and for whatever reason, I’m feeling sad it’s all over. I’m far far away from China and back in Oakville, but still eating up any news about it, constantly reminiscing through my own photos, watching all I can on TV, and even doing research to prepare for buying tickets to Vancouver’s Winter Games. I’m an addict — completely, utterly, obsessed with everything that has to do with the Olympics.
So here’s a neat little piece I read in the Economist this morning at my local library. The Chinese executed a nearly flawless event not only by controlling Beijing’s crowds, protesters and its security, but also the weather:
The Beijing Olympics: Five-ring circus … Weather? Or not?
Worried it might rain on the opening parade, games organisers launched 1,110 cloud-seeding missiles in the hours leading up to the big event. Fired from 21 sites surrounding the city, the missiles carried silver iodide to make it rain in those areas rather than over the ceremony in the Bird’s Nest Stadium.
