Everyone owes Michael Phelps an apology. I think that Michael Phelps was psychic, when he was partying down in South Carolina those many months ago. He was just getting ready for 2010 with some 420. Its come to the media’s attention that next year’s Winter Olympic Games have a rather odd symbol in the Official Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch.
The Canadian newspaper, The Star explains the torch,
Composed of stainless steel, aluminum and sheet moulding, the torch was designed to evoke snow, ice, skiing and skating, but to many, the metre-long white torch looks suspiciously like a marijuana joint, especially when lit.
But the torch’s resemblance to British Columbia’s biggest cash crop was evident right away to Jodie Emery, editor of Cannabis Culture magazine.”A lot of people come to Vancouver because it’s marijuana-friendly, so I think people who already enjoy a joint themselves will feel a little more kinship to the Olympics.”
Maybe its one of those things where people see what they want to see. So then the paper went out and got a professional opinion.
Industrial designer Mark Busse said he doesn’t see a joint so much as a tweezer or scalpel. “Sure, it may look a little bit like a joint, but I can tell you that what they were going for was ergonomics, sleekness, modernity,” he said.
Still as odd and inviting as the torch may look its a big improvement over the 1988 Calgary torch. Turn it upside down and you have a plunger or something else.
As inspiring as those torches are, you should check out the New York Times’ interactive display of historical torch design going back to 1936.
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