Olympic mascots are meant to represent the cultural heritage of the host city. It's to embody the virtues of the games, and to characterize the event. They are the spokespeople of the world's largest sporting competition and a revenue-maker through merchandising.
Somewhere along the way, things got lost in translation.
Here are the top 10 strangest, most bizarre Olympic mascots to date.
10: Vancouver 2010, Winter- Miga, Quatchi, & Sumi
9: Munich 1972, Summer- Waldi the Dachschund
8: Athens 2004, Summer- Athena & Phevos
7: China 2008, Summer- The Fuwa
6: London 2012, Summer- Wenlock & Mandeville
5: Nagano 1998, Winter- The Snowlets
4: Albertville 1992, Winter- Magique
3: Turin 2006, Winter- Neve & Gliz
2: Grenoble 1968, Winter- Schuss
1: Atlanta 1996, Summer- Izzy