I was watching the Winter Olympics from Vancouver and was confused by the starter’s gizmo in the speed skating event. It’s not only intriguingly futuristic but also a bit too similar to the weapons in “V” for me to just shake it off. And why does it flash when the starter press the button?
I had to get the facts by a real expert, so I contacted speedskating commentator Kenth Borgstrom of Eurosport who told me that starting pistols make too much noise indoors, so instead they use these things to create an artificial shot. And the flash is there in order to sync the manual timing which is always used (as a backup for the automatic) since you can’t start it accurately from the other side of the venue by ear (with normal starting pistols, you time with the muzzle flash).
There you go.
One mystery solved. So many to go.
