Quiz: Olympic Mascots
Cobi, the mascot of the 1992 Barcelona Games, was what type of animal?
- Despite the Spanish tradition of running with the bulls and bullfights, Cobi was a dog.
Hodori and Hosuni, the mascots of the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea, were what type of animal?
- The "Ho" in "Hodori" comes from the Korean word for tiger, and "Dori" is a common masculine diminutive. "Hosuni," a female tiger, was rarely seen.
Hakon and Kristin, two blond-haired, blue-eyed children are the mascots for which Olympics?
- Hakon and Kristin were the first human-based mascots for an Olympics and several pairs of Norwegian children traveled around portraying them at Olympic-related events.
In which Olympics did "Schuss," a skiing cartoon character, appear as the first unofficial Olympic Mascot?
- Schuss appeared on several pins and figurines but was not merchandised that much compared with future Olympic mascots.
The full name of the Russian Bear mascot of the 1980 Moscow Games was "Mikhail Potapych Toptygin." What was he better known as?
- A second, less well-known mascot, was also present during the Moscow Games. The mascot was a seal named "Vigri", who represented the yachting events in Tallinn.
Nagano's mascots were four snow owls named Sukki, Nokki, Lekki and Tsukki. But what was the original Nagano mascot supposed to be?
- Sukki, Nokki, Lekki and Tsukki were slow to catch on but when they did the Japanese went crazy for them. Snowple the weasel was replaced early on for the four cute "snowlets".
There were three Olympic mascots for the 2000 Sydney Games. Which one of the following animals was not one of them?
- The three Sydney mascots were "Ollie", a kookaburra bird, "Syd", a platypus, and "Millie", an echidna. There were no kangaroo, dingo, or koala bear mascots.
Perhaps the most maligned Olympic mascot ever, "Izzy" (1996 Atlanta) was derived from what original name?
- After "Whatizit?" was introduced during the closing ceremonies in Barcelona the public reaction was so overwhelmingly negative the organizers tried to give him a makeover, part of which involved shortening his name to "Izzy."
Schneemann, the Mascot for the 1976 Innsbruck Games was which of the following?
- Austria has plenty of edelweiss and mountain goats but Schneemann was a snowman. Snow is something else they have plenty of.
While Schuss was the first unofficial mascot, which of the following was the first official mascot at an Olympic Games?
- Waldi was the mascot at the 1972 Games in Munich and the first official Olympic mascot.
