China, the host of the 2008 Summer Olympics, has announced that they are recalling the Olympic Torch due to some safety concerns.
The Olympic Torch is a symbol of the Olympic Games. Commemorating the theft of fire from the Greek god Zeus by Prometheus. Its origins lie in ancient Greece, when a fire was kept burning throughout the celebration of the ancient Olympics.
The concerns over the safety of the Olympic Torch stem from the amount of lead found in the paint used to decorate the torch.
The Olympic games were awarded to Beijing, People's Republic of China after an exhaustive ballot of the International Olympic Committee on July 13, 2001. The Chinese government sees the games as a chance for China to highlight its economic rise and emergence as a world power, which is why this recall is particularly embarrassing for the Chinese government, who has already had to endure severe backlash after an already lengthy list of recalls this year. First pet food, then toys, then toothpaste, and now Olympic Torches.
The Official 2008 Summer Olympic Torch was manufactured and designed in China by the Lenovo Group, which has it's headquarters in Beijing, China.