Why do they bite the trophy

That of Olympians biting their medals while posing for pictures. Simone Biles did it, Michael Phelps did it and closer home, Sakshi Malik did it too, among many others. Turns out, the act has a very interesting history behind it. A common fact about the Olympics gold medals is that it is not made of pure solid gold.

According to CNN, Olympic gold medals are actually made of g of silver and 6g of gold. It's a familiar pose by now: Fresh-faced Olympian grins while pretending to take a bite from the hard-won gold medal hanging around his neck. But why do athletes feign chomping on their prized medallions, anyway? Most likely to satisfy the pose-hungry media, says David Wallechinsky, president of the International Society of Olympic Historians.

There are only so many things to do with a medal, and the excited champions are usually appeasing requests from the gallery of Olympic photographers when they bite down on their booty. I don't think it's something the athletes would probably do on their own. He's seeing the practice more this year than ever before, especially among swimmers -- though he has no idea why. More Videos Bob Marley's daughter an Olympic designer America's Olympic heroes get slammed! Cycling Olympic star pondering future Gallery: Sobbing Olympians of the "crying games".

At first I thought it was a coincidence, but after noticing athlete after athlete putting their newly-awarded medals in their mouths, I suspected there was a reason behind the bizarre, celebratory habit.

Here's the deal: Because gold is softer and more malleable than other metals, one way to determine whether or not something is real gold is by biting into it — if it's authentic, your teeth will leave an indentation. Most medalists probably care far more about the symbolism of the medal than what it's made of; however, so why do we see everyone from swimmers to judo fighters to gymnasts pulling off this pose on the podium? Because it's the money shot for the media pit.

Watch the Olympics and you might notice a number of medalists gnawing on their gold or silver prize like an old-time prospector. Does anyone expect to bite into chocolate? When Olympic winners pose for a victory image, a sea of photojournalists are snapping away and asking athletes to do something besides just stand there and smile.