 Athletes usually dedicate their entire lives to make it to the Olympics. But, you know, in 1896, 1900, they just happened to be in town. David Walachinsky is the co-founder of the International Society of Olympic Historians. He says in the first few iterations of the modern games, the Olympics didn't have great brand recognition. So in 1900, when Paris first hosted the games alongside the World's Fair, the fair took center stage.