biology

Vinicius and Tom

Vinicius and Tom is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Vinicius and Tom rather than just read about it. In short: Vinicius (Portuguese: [viˈnisjus]; Vinícius) is the official mascot of the 2016 Summer Olympics, and Tom (Portuguese: [tõw̃]) is the official mascot of the 2016 Summer Paralympics. Both events were held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Key takeaways

Vinicius and Tom belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Vinicius and Tom to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Vinicius and Tom from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Vinicius (Portuguese: [viˈnisjus]; Vinícius) is the official mascot of the 2016 Summer Olympics, and Tom (Portuguese: [tõw̃]) is the official mascot of the 2016 Summer Paralympics. Both events were held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The mascots were created by São Paulo-based animation company Birdo, which was selected by a national tender process that began in November 2012. Vinicius' design represents Brazilian fauna, combining aspects of cats, monkeys, and birds, while Tom's design represents Brazilian flora. Tenders to create the mascots were only accepted from Brazilian companies. The final designs were unanimously selected in August 2013 by a panel of judges comprising media professionals and representatives from various Olympic organizations. They were revealed to the public without names on 23 November 2014. Following a three-week online vote which ended on 14 December 2014, the public named the two mascots after Vinicius de Moraes and Antônio Carlos "Tom" Jobim, the co-writers of the 1962 bossa nova song "The Girl from Ipanema". Media involving the mascots includes various merchandise and a series of two-minute animated shorts that were broadcast on Cartoon Network Brazil. Plush dolls of Vinicius were provided to coaches during the Olympic wrestling events to throw into the ring when they wished to challenge a referee's call, a practice many observers found humorous. All Paralympic medalists received a plush doll of Tom, with the leaves on Tom's head the same color as their respective medals. Multiple observers have praised the appearance of the mascots.

History

Creation and development Tenders to create the mascots of the 2016 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, were requested in November 2012. The tender process involved design, illustration, animation, and advertising firms exclusively from Brazil, in order to ensure a "Brazilian-flavoured design". Directors from the Brazilian film festival Anima Mundi served as consultants in the process. The Rio 2016 organizers sent the agencies involved a list of 17 guidelines, among which were: ... the mascots need to reflect the local culture, but must also be universally understood; they should be aligned with the brand direction of the Rio 2016 logos and with the values of the Olympic and Paralympic movements; they must represent universal values, such as friendship, respect and fair play; they must speak to children in particular, but also resonate with adults. The organizers selected three proposed mascot designs and subjected them to a perception survey with children aged six to twelve in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. The organizers presented each of the three potential mascots to the children, who were unaware that the designs were candidates for the Rio 2016 mascots and were told only about their fictional backgrounds and personality traits. The children responded with comments such as "'This is my friend', 'This one seems stuck-up', 'This one has cool hair'; and 'That one looks silly'". The organizers used the children's comments to improve the mascot designs. In August 2013, a panel of judges was formed to select the final mascots, comprising representatives of the organizers of Rio 2016, the International Olympic Committee, the Brazilian Olympic Committee, and the Brazilian Paralympic Committee, along with professionals in the fields of animation, illustration, advertising and market research. The judges unanimously chose a set of two mascots, one for the Olympic Games and the other for the Paralympic Games, created by Birdo, a São Paulo-based animation company. After a search of existing intellectual property confirmed that the mascot designs were original, Birdo and the organizers began to create content featuring the mascots, working in secrecy.

Naming and unveiling On 22 November 2014, in preparation for the unveiling, the Rio 2016 organizers held a press event in which costumes of the mascots of past Olympic and Paralympic Games visited Rio de Janeiro to meet the new mascots of the Rio 2016 Games. The mascots were revealed to the public on 23 November 2014, the names to be determined by an online public vote. There were three candidates in the vote:

"Oba and Eba" – Brazilian Portuguese expressions of joy "Tiba Tuque and Esquindim" – "tiba" means "a lot" in Tupi–Guarani languages, "tuque" comes from batuque, and "esquindim" is a Brazilian Portuguese word for natural sway "Vinicius and Tom" – the names of musicians Vinicius de Moraes and Antônio Carlos "Tom" Jobim, the co-writers of the song "The Girl from Ipanema" On 24 November 2014, the mascots appeared publicly in costumes for the first time at the Ginásio Experimental Olímpico Juan Antonio Samaranch, a school in Rio motivated by the 2016 Summer Olympics and established for talented young athletes. After a three-week voting period, the names "Vinicius and Tom" won over "Oba and Eba" and "Tiba Tuque and Esquindim" on 14 December 2014, tallying 44 percent of 323,327 votes.

Use of Vinicius in Olympic wrestling events

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Logo for the mascots

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Vinicius and Tom

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Vinicius and Tom claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Vinicius and Tom before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Vinicius and Tom ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Vinicius and Tom

In research: Vinicius and Tom appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Vinicius and Tom in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Vinicius and Tom is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2016 Summer Olympics, 2016 Summer Paralympics, Animal mascots, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Vinicius and Tom outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Vinicius and Tom in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Vinicius and Tom means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Vinicius and Tom out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Vinicius and Tom in simple terms?

Why does Vinicius and Tom matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Vinicius and Tom?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Vinicius and Tom.