Adam Pretty, Al Bello/Getty ImagesDoes winning in the Olympics make you rich? How much money does a gold medal earn you?
—S. Cobra, via the inbox
Gold medalists earn a $25,000 honorarium. Silver medalists get $15,000, while bronze triggers a $10,000 payment. That's the good news. The bad news, per MSNBC, is that winners also owe taxes on those winnings—nearly $9,000 for a gold. Combined, U.S. athletes are said to owe about $350,000 in taxes...so far. Then again, once they leave London, the combined endorsement deals these kids get will likely earn them millions.
Know what else I've got in the millions? Questions! From you! Let's answer some more.
Why aren't there more celebs at the Olympics?
—E.J., via the inbox
So Nicole Kidman and the royal family aren't good enough for you? Look, unlike the Super Bowl, which has largely morphed into a red carpet event masquerading as a football game, the Olympics still places athletes front and center. If the self-promotional opportunities aren't there, fewer stars are tempted to leave their homes in L.A. or New York to spend the time. Guess you'll just have to settle for Samuel L. Jackson's awesome tweets.
Any chance NBC can redeem itself during the closing Olympic ceremony, after that mess at the opening?
—J. Y. Lynn, via Twitter
As long as we see the whole ceremony this time, why not?
Gabby Douglas is hot! Is she single?
—Moon Over Tibet, via the inbox
Gabby Douglas is 16. Next question.
Are more people likely to watch the Games when they already know the outcome? (Does tape delay help or hurt the ratings?)
—S. King, Atlanta, via the inbox
It's not clear how many Americans who tune into the Games already know the outcome when they sit down to watch. Here's what we do know: They're watching. Let's take last Tuesday as an example: Ratings for that night were the highest household rating for any night of a summer Olympics since the 1996 Atlanta games. We're talking nearly 39 million viewers—the most for any Tuesday for a non-U.S. summer Games since 1960.
So, TiVo or no TiVo, Michael Phelps and Gabby Douglas are officially household names.