Does This Look Like 'Zion' to You? Iran Thinks So.

The Olympics are for intra-national bonding, and being kind to one another despite our various geopolitical borders, and sex among swim teams, and beating the crap out of everyone who's not the U.S.A.! Which is why Iran is very upset that the logo for the 2012 London Olympics looks like a shoddy Keith-Haring rip-off it reads "Zion." Iran is so upset about this so-called "racist logo," in fact, that they wrote a letter to the International Olympic Committee threatening to boycott the games and urging other Muslim countries to do the same.

ESPN points out that "Zion" is a biblical term widely recognized to refer to the city of Jerusalem. Pink, meanwhile, is a color generally associated with Barbie and breast cancer awareness, and, if you squint while drunk, you might be able to turn a "2" into a "Z," but even that would only get you "Zoiz" or "Zioz," which is the name of a rejected Zelda character of indeterminate religious leanings.

In conclusion, this is the trick the awkward kid used to get out of gym. We get you, Iran. (Wink.) The International Olympic Committee, in the meantime, is utterly befuddled because until now the only critique had been that the logo was ugly -- not racist.

2012 London logo draws ire of Iran [ESPN]