The two mascots of the 2012 London Olympics were fashioned from droplets of steel, according to the story of their beginnings. The two droplets of molten steel fell from girders that were being made for the new Olympic stadium. A worker at the plant took the blobs of cooled steel home with him and turned them into the two characters, named Wenlock and Mandeville.

The mascots are named after the town of Much Wenlock - where a precursor to the modern Olympic Games was held in the late 19th century - and Stoke Mandevelle hospital, the birthplace of the Paralympic Games.

According to the creators of the mascots, Wenlock and Mandeville were designed for children of the digital age. The single eye on each character represents a camera that allows the mascots to record what they see as they travel to the Olympic Games.

The new Olympics mascots will mainly be used in "the digital space": in online applications to play with them and customise them, or as cameras or video cameras. An interactive website has already been launched: http://www.ourlondon2012.com/mascots.

You can also watch an animation film that tells the story of Wenlock and Mandeville in English and in Chinese.

The London Olympics begins on 27 July 2012. This will be the Games of the XXX Olympiad.

(source from - worldsteel)