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2. A Sofa May Have Sunk a Kayak
Rumor has it that an unnamed Olympic kayaker capsized after his boat hit a freaking sofa in Rio de Janeiro’s Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon. It sounds far-fetched, until you realize that the lagoon is notoriously polluted and several sofas have been spotted floating by already. According to Slate, people still aren’t sure if it actually happened, but the fact that it’s so believable because the waters are that gross is bad enough.
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3. There are Capybaras Playing Golf
Capybaras are furry creatures about the size of a pig. They live in Rio and they’re kind of cute—when they’re not invading a golf course where people are trying to win Olympic gold. Yep, these little creatures have been hanging out—and even napping—on the Olympic golf course, the Los Angeles Times reports. Golfers are required to encourage any capybaras they come across to get out of the way—or risk incurring a stroke penalty. #olympicgolferproblems
4. The Water is Legit Making People Sick
The gymnasts should be thankful they compete on dry land: Environmentalists say that Rio’s Guanabara Bay is filled with raw sewage, a.k.a human poop. The Washington Post reports that Belgian sailor Evi Van Acker became ill after competing on Wednesday, and her coach is blaming the conditions of the bay. According to the Daily Mail, triathletes and sailors are being told to shower immediately after leaving the water and that medical crews are on stand-by to treat any cuts.
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5. There’s a “Wall of Shame”
Officials in Rio built a wall to hide the city’s poor from the eyes of tourists. The 10-foot wall blocks the northern part of the city, which The Guardian says is controlled mostly by gangs and contains a large population that lives below the poverty line. Officials claim they built it as an “acoustic barrier” to protect its citizens from the noise of the Games, but no one is buying it.
6. This Mom Got Her Suitcase Destroyed
Just because you’re the mom of an Olympian doesn’t mean you get special treatment. According to the The New York Times, U.S. volleyball player Carli Lloyd’s mother, Cindy, found that out the hard way. (Yep, there’s a soccer player named Carli Lloyd, too.) She dropped off her luggage on the cruise ship where she was staying, only to find out hours later that it had been blown up. Apparently, security thought her bag was a bomb. “They took me back to this room, and there were some really scary people,” Cindy told The New York Times. “They started interrogating me. I don’t know who they were, but there were five or six of them, all in uniform. And after about 10 minutes, they told me they blew up my bag.”
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7. U.S. Swimmers Got Mugged
Poor Ryan Lochte. Not only does the goofy hottie feel like he plays second-fiddle to Michael Phelps (he told NBC that he’d be “the Michael Phelps of swimming, if Michael Phelps wasn’t there”), he also got robbed—literally—while hanging out in Rio. According to CNN, the silver-haired swimmer was out with three other members of the team when they were approached by robbers posing as police officers. “And then the guy pulled out his gun, he cocked it, put it to my forehead and he said, ‘Get down,’ and I put my hands up,” Lochte told NBC during an interview. “I was like ‘whatever.’ He took our money, he took my wallet—he left my cell phone, he left my credentials.” Thankfully, Lochte and the three other swimmers are fine—but the suspects are still on the loose.
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