RIO DE JANEIRO -- They are the purple circles that set social media on fire Sunday night, the circular bruises on Michael Phelps' right shoulder that left television viewers around the world wondering if the most decorated Olympian of all-time had contracted some rare skin disease, been attacked by an octopus, or perhaps was part-Dalmatian.
The answer, of course, was none of the above. The bruises were the result of a form of cupping therapy Phelps had endured Sunday morning to treat some shoulder discomfort that set in after waiting in line for forty minutes at the Olympic Village wearing a backpack.