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There’s a hidden feature inside the Paralympic medals

The Rio 2016 Paralympic medals have a hidden feature that helps visually impaired athletes differentiate between gold, silver and bronze.

Paralympic medals

Rather than striking a traditional pose of taking a bite out of their medals, some Paralympic athletes are showing off their hardware in a different way. Many Paralympic athletes have been holding their medals up to their ears during the post-event ceremony.

The secret is what’s inside each of the Paralympic medals.

For the first time in history, a tiny device has been installed in the medals that uses steel balls to make a specific sound. When shaken, the bronze, silver and gold medals all have a different pitch, which helps athletes recognize the order of podium finishers.

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The bronze medal contains 16 steel balls. The silver medal contains 20 and the gold features 28, with the latter producing the loudest noise of the three. There is also braille on the front which reads “Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.”

The Brazilian mint created 2,642 medals (877 gold, 876 silver, 889 bronze) for the Games in Rio. Lasers engrave the event on the outer edge of each medal.

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Breaking Bad star RJ Mitte demonstrates the sounds of each of the three Paralympic medals in a video with the Rio 2016 crew. The video can be found below.

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