Not many will soon forget the stunning opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. How did a performance of such magnitude and grandeur go from raw concept to perfected execution? With the help of adult diapers, no less.

Interviews with coaches and performers revealed a marathon 51 hour dress rehearsal prior to the Games' opening. There was little food, rest or shelter from the elements during those intense hours and even less time to take a bathroom break. Adult diapers were de rigueur among the nimble chorus members.

Zhang Yimou, the ceremony's director, lists working with the New York Metropolitan Opera among his impressive credentials, a job he enjoyed in 2006. In an interview after the Olympics, he pointed out that there are some basic differences between China's performing community and that of the West. Mainly, there are limits to the demands that can be made of western performers by virtue of their contracts and cultural expectations. A 51 hour rehearsal simply wouldn't happen in many places outside of China. With pride, Zhang claimed "We can achieve in one week what they [other countries] can achieve in one month."

Perhaps now knowing that some of the world's most accomplished performing arts professionals have given up the race to the bathroom, donning adult diapers in their pursuit of perfection, will help a number of us with borderline incontinence to lighten up and wear the darn things ourselves. Never mind a 51 hour rehearsal of any kind; a trip to the grocery store can end up being a lot less complicated.

New York Post story of Olympic Performers and Adult Diapers here.