Here's why there are tiny green plants at the bottom of the ski jump hill

Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP

• There are tiny green plants at the bottom of the ski jump hill, and they stick out amid the white snow.
• The plants are placed there to help ski jumpers' depth perception.
• When the athletes are flying through the air and rapidly approaching the ground, the plants help them know where they are in relation to the ground.

Ski jumping is one of the most spectacular events of the Winter Olympics, with athletes flying down the hill at 60 miles per hour, launching 15 feet into the air, and traveling over 100 yards.

Viewers watching the spectacle may be surprised by another unusual sight when the ski jumpers land: tiny green plants at the bottom of the hill.See the rest of the story at Business Insider

NOW WATCH: Shaq on his love for new tech and how he tried to get Steve Jobs to give him a preview of the iPhone

See Also:

• Pita Taufatofua — the shirtless Tongan sensation — learned to ski in 3 months in an incredible transition to make the Winter Olympics
• 'A disaster:' Nathan Chen's debut at the Winter Olympics saw the star of US figure skating fall well short of expectations
• The US ski jump team is purposely competing jet-lagged at the Olympics so they think less before flying hundreds of yards