Finland's Athletes Are Knitting Their Way Through Olympic Stress 

Would it surprise you to learn that half the Winter Olympics team of Finland is knitting as a stress-reduction measure? No? I didn’t think so.

NPR pointed out video of the moment, via the NBC Olympics website, that snowboard coach Antti Koskinen paused his knitting just long enough to fistbump one of his charges before they went down the chute. (Do we call it a chute? Because that’s certainly what it looks like!) Turns out this is something they’ve done regularly since the Sochi Olympics; Reuters talked to Koskinen, who said half the team was doing it and explained, “I mean I do it every four years… it is a nice, Finnish thing… it means no unnecessary chit-chat is needed.” Their current project:

“We are knitting a blanket for our president’s child,” Koskinen said. “Everyone is knitting a little square, and then we will join them together… I got a bit carried away, so… a rectangle,” he laughed, holding it up.

Another to have got carried away was 20-year-old ski jumper Eetu Nousiainen, who worked away at a long strip of scarf.

“Maybe mine can be for the president’s dog,” he chuckled.

The team posted more pictures of their efforts on their Twitter account. Finland—you are chilling too hard.