1. The word "trophy" comes from a ancient word for a victory monument. The English word trophy comes from the ancient Greek word tropaion, which referred to a monument erected on a battlefield using captured armor and weapons to mark the exact spot where an enemy was turned back and defeated!

2. Ancient Olympic winners received olive wreaths instead of metal cups. In the ancient Olympic Games held in Greece over 2,700 years ago, champions didn't get gold medals or shiny trophies! Instead, they were crowned with a sacred wreath of wild olive leaves cut from a special grove near the temple of Zeus.

3. Many classic trophies are shaped like two-handled chalices. Ever wonder why so many sports trophies look like giant drinking cups with two large handles? In ancient Greece and Rome, winners of athletic games were rewarded with large, decorative two-handled urns (called amphorae) filled with valuable olive oil!

4. Oscar statues are made of a dense metal alloy called Britannium. The famous Academy Award "Oscar" statuettes handed out to movie stars look like solid gold, but they are actually made of a heavy metal alloy of tin, antimony, and copper called Britannium, which is then electroplated with a thin outer layer of 24-karat gold!

5. The FIFA World Cup trophy is made of solid 18-karat gold. The world's most famous soccer trophy stands 14.4 inches tall and contains over 11 pounds of solid 18-karat gold! Because gold is an extremely dense element, the trophy weighs a surprisingly heavy 13.6 pounds—so players have to use both arms to lift it!

6. Electroplating coats inexpensive plastic trophies with shiny metal. How do modern youth sports trophies look like shiny silver or gold without costing a fortune? Manufacturers use electroplating, a chemical process that uses an electric current to bond a razor-thin layer of real metal onto lightweight molded plastic bases!

7. The America's Cup is the oldest active trophy in international sport. First awarded in 1851 for a yacht race around the Isle of Wight in England, the America's Cup (nicknamed "Auld Mug") is a silver pitcher that pre-dates the modern Olympic Games and the FIFA World Cup by decades!