11. It's Not a SARS Outbreak
Beijingers don respirators when the air gets too soupy. Following suit, the British have developed a mask for their athletes to wear in competition, though IOC president Jacques Rogge has called it "totally useless." Whether masks are legal in a given event is up to each sport's governing body.

12. You Thought Soccer Fans Were Crazed?
There are now roughly 3,500 people in China named Aoyun ("Olympics"), and some expectant mothers have requested induced labor during the opening ceremony. Other patriotic fans have been tattooed with the five interlocking rings, the Great Wall, the Olympic mascots, or even a complete set of the Games' 35 sport icons.

13. Who Needs the Paralympics?
In May, South African double-amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorius won his appeal to be eligible for competition using carbon-fiber prostheses. He wouldn't be the first disabled Olympian, though. American gymnast George Eyser won six medals in 1904, including three golds, with a wooden leg; legally blind Marla Runyan ran the 1,500 and 5,000 in Sydney and Athens; and two archers have competed from wheelchairs. In fact, Pistorius wouldn't even be the only South African amputee in Beijing. Swimmer Natalie du Toit will compete without her left leg or a prosthesis.

14. Legacy Counts
Boulder, Colorado's Taylor Phinney, 18, took up track cycling just under a year ago, as a senior in high school. Since then he's won a national championship, a World Cup, and a spot on the U.S. Olympic team. His secret? Genes. His dad, Davis Phinney, earned a bronze in cycling at the 1984 Olympics and was the first American to win a stage of the Tour de France. Mom Connie Carpenter-Phinney took cycling gold in '84, after having already been to the Winter Olympics as a speed skater. Watch for "Mini Phinney" to medal in the individual pursuit.

15. You Could Still Go
As of June, airfares to Beijing were available for less than $1,300 online, and a decent room downtown was about $300 per night. Getting event tickets on short notice will be harder: eBay scalpers were asking $10,000 for admission to the opening ceremony.