"You won't find this in Cortina d'Ampezzo over the next few weeks, but for several decades of the Olympics' history, the contest awarded medals not just for sport but for art too. In the Summer Games from 1912 to 1948, musicians, painters, and plenty of other aesthetes went brain-to-brain in events such as lyric poetry and chamber music. "Town planning" was even contested one year under the umbrella of the architecture competition."
"The Olympic committee ought to bring these events back. Well, maybe not town planning-but add trivia to the mix instead. Organizers can throw in a few sports questions for good measure, but with trivia, if you're not working up a sweat thinking, you're not doing it right. Find previous questions here, and to get Atlantic Trivia in your inbox every day, sign up for The Atlantic Daily. Monday, February 9, 2026"
From 1912 through 1948, the Olympics awarded medals for artistic competitions. Categories included lyric poetry, chamber music, painting, and even "town planning" under architecture. Submitted works had to relate to sport. A recommendation to revive arts competitions or substitute trivia surfaced, suggesting organizers add sports questions to test mental agility. Example trivia items include identifying the anterior cruciate ligament as the knee stabilizer for pivoting; naming Janet Jackson as the focal performer of the 2007 Super Bowl halftime "wardrobe malfunction"; recognizing that "whole milk" contains 3.25 percent fat; and noting the hyoid bone is not connected to other bones.
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