Stardate 20011221.1729 (On Screen): There is a lot to like about the Olympics, but there is a lot I find intensely silly. One of the latter is the tradition of the Olympic Torch. Ostensibly the flame starts in Greece somewhere or other and then is transported to where-ever the Olympics are being held where it is used to start a much larger torch which burns for the entire duration of the Olympics. It's never been clear why this is done at all, let alone why they take such an arcanely indirect route to get it there. This tradition began back when the Olympics were held in various European venues, and thus the torch could actually be carried from Greece to the site. But now the Olympics are held all over the world. So how did they get this precious flame across the Atlantic? Did they actually carry an open flame on a jet? That's a violation of federal law, and it seems as if it would set off all the smoke detectors on the jet.
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