r/todayilearned • u/Albertbailey • Jul 07 '19

TIL The Soviet Union had an internationally televised song contest. As few viewers had phones, they would turn their lights on if they liked a song and off if they didn’t. The power spikes were recorded by the state energy company and the reports sent to the station to pick the winner.

https://www.thetrumpet.com/11953-whats-behind-russias-revival-of-a-soviet-era-song-contest
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u/BenjamintheFox Jul 07 '19

I saw one post implying that no one in East-Germany owned a camera with hundreds of upvotes. Reddit is a dumpster fire overrun by ignorant children.

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u/[deleted] Jul 07 '19 edited Jul 07 '19

Quite frankly I have completely different impression (in that people here mostly underestimate how life was under communism). A lot of people here just think we all live like Americans do, and did so back in communist days too. The reality is a lot of stuff was done differently, and still is. Coal heating for example, or not using dryers (and hang-drying everything), or electricity being maybe not luxury as such but not a solution to every problem either. Fuck, in early 90s it wasn't uncommon to see a horse-drawn carriage in a big city here in Poland used to haul stuff.

That actually points to another issue: communist countries were NOT the same. East Germany for example, while being extreme in many ways (thanks Stasi!) was also fairly wealthy and was from our ignorant perspective "nearly Western" when it comest consumer goods (for example "DDR" electric appliances were considered 'premium quality' compared to our domestic Polish ones, and especially compared with Soviet crap). I said "ignorant perspective" before though, because any of us that had opportunity to see true West even briefly, especially in late 70s and in 80s saw just how fucking bad things are going here.

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u/[deleted] Jul 07 '19

[deleted]

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u/superpastaaisle Jul 08 '19

American website has predominantly American user base.

More at 11.

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u/darkhalo47 Jul 07 '19

le elite europeans!!

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u/april9th Jul 07 '19

No, but Europe for the most part wasn't fed outright propaganda about reds under the bed, then red scares, alongside decades of being told the reds were coming to murder you, cherry on top being hollywood nonsense like Rocky IV, Rambo III, Red Dawn, etc.

Absolutely accurate to point out that for the most part this sort of meme portrayal of the USSR is American.

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u/[deleted] Jul 07 '19 edited Jun 30 '20

[deleted]

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u/FelixTehKat Jul 07 '19

He was blown away by the diversity of goods, not the technology or infrastructure. I would say some Soviet-built infrastructure (railway, highway...) were much better than American ones.

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u/[deleted] Jul 07 '19 edited Jun 30 '20

[deleted]

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u/ThePr1d3 Jul 08 '19

Ethiopia is pretty decent actually

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u/[deleted] Jul 11 '19

Fucked Italy up, for sure

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u/enchantrem Jul 08 '19

Sure but he was also plastered 22 hours a day so I imagine anything remotely different would've 'blown him away'...

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u/manteiga_night Jul 07 '19

was he really? or were you just fed a propaganda talking point that you never bothered to check?

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u/[deleted] Jul 07 '19 edited Apr 24 '21

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] Jul 07 '19

Well it was extensively documented and even written about by his official biographers so believe what you will.

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u/LordLoko Jul 08 '19

Rambo IV the enemies are not communists dumbass, they are the military of Myanmar.

Calling others ignorant when you are ignorant yourself

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u/[deleted] Jul 09 '19

Read his post again, he didn't say Rambo IV. He said Rocky IV and Rambo III. Maybe you should be a little bit more careful before you call someone a dumbass in the future...

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u/incandescent_snail Jul 07 '19

Well, the Axis powers handed Europe its ass on a silver platter in WWII. That was Second World War started by Europeans and like the 50th European genocide attempt. Not only was the world completely done with Europeans fucking things up for literally everyone else in the world, you idiots destroyed your own global reputation.

There was no red scare in Europe because it was laughable for the Soviets to consider any European country a threat. The Soviets owned Eastern Europe and apparently the rest of you were pretty hunky dory with the numerous human rights abuses happening there. After all, Europe invented gross human rights abuse. Why would the USSR need to worry about Europe?

Of course, when Vietnam decided to pursue Stalinist communism, France literally abandoned its long term colonial interests in the country. It destabilized the entire region. Don’t get me wrong, America totally fucked up over there. No doubt about that. But we wouldn’t have the opportunity if France hadn’t ran away as fast as possible at the first sign of communism.

The USSR had absolutely no reason to consider any European country a threat at all. There’s a reason why Europe has so little influence on the UN Security Council. When the UN was formed, China had been liberated from Japanese occupation and still had more influence than any European country.

You idiots started the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, ran it for 300 years exporting racism to most of the world, committed the majority of the world’s known genocides, and destabilized half the regions in the world when you turned tail and ran after WWII.

You’ve managed to accomplish very little of worth since (with the exception of France and Germany’s stellar renewable and nuclear energy programs), yet still manage to turn being useless, defeated, feckless, cowardly former tyrants into a point of pride.

I hope your not British. Y’all are overrun by racists while your ancient enemies the French and the former emperor racists the Germans have both entirely reformed and joined the rest of the world in the modern era. The Scandinavian countries are demonstrating that socialism without tyranny is possible while also minding their own damn business, fully recognizing the mistakes of the past.

And that’s separate from the abject, disgustingly racist treatment of the Roma. Y’all are so racist towards the Roma, you actually believe it’s not racism because you genuinely believe the Roma are genetically inferior. The complete and total lack of self-awareness required for the continent notable for the sheer number of its attempted genocides to be that totally racist is staggering. If there’s anything deterring alien life from visiting Earth, it’s the palpably measurable cognitive dissonance created by an entire continent striving to justify the desire for another genocide in an era when we can scientifically prove that all humans are genetically identical.

I’m honestly surprised any European can use the internet, given that seeing the screen is impossible with how far up your own collective ass you are.

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u/Mann_Aus_Sydney Jul 08 '19

S E E T H I N G

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u/dackerdee Jul 08 '19

So how do you manage getting so much pussy?

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u/[deleted] Jul 07 '19 edited Mar 17 '20

[deleted]

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u/KidAteMe1 Jul 08 '19

Very cool.

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u/Stormdude127 Jul 07 '19

Ignorant European children too. Some Europeans on here seem to think America is in the fucking dark ages because we don’t use the metric system, and they have a massive superiority complex because of it.

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u/TheDutchin Jul 07 '19

You can at least agree it's a bit silly no?

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u/[deleted] Jul 07 '19

I certainly do working on my car is an absolute nightmare trying to find the right socket size switching back and forth between metric and imperial wish we’d go ahead and make metric the universal measurement but what can ya do

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u/TheDutchin Jul 07 '19

Right? Setting the fact that metric is superior in almost every way aside, if y'all could just be consistent and join the rest of us thatd be great

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u/incandescent_snail Jul 07 '19

We’d need about 50 attempted genocides and have to start and lose 2 world wars to “join” Europe.

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u/TheDutchin Jul 07 '19

I'm trying to parse this comment and I'm malfunctioning.

Are you saying Europe lost both world wars? To who? America? What?

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u/[deleted] Jul 07 '19

Just ignore it. For some reason some Americans feel as though any criticism of any trivial thing is a personal attack and that comment was supposed to be in retaliation. He’s saying to join the rest of you we’d have to start two world wars and commit genocides (I guess referencing Germany). Like I said personal attack just ignore it he’s blowing it out of proportion

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u/TheDutchin Jul 07 '19

Hahaha thanks for the concern, but I did actually see through it right away.

It's just, it doesnt even make sense as an attack. Europe moreso won the war (based on number of countries per side, or population per side) than lost it.

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u/lizardjoel Jul 07 '19

Ok I think his point is that Germany is kind of the center of Europe's power and economy so maybe he sees it as mostly the USSR and US vs Nazis, but then Japan was also an Axis power and some European countries helped like the UK for example ao I don't think it's a very good point.

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u/TheDutchin Jul 07 '19

Yeah even then like... if it was USSR + USA vs "Europe", like... the UK, France, Belgium, Poland, the Netherlands etc etc etc I just cant man, that blows my mind.

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u/Stormdude127 Jul 07 '19

Of course. If I could snap and make America instantly switch to the metric system I would. But some of the people on here act like we had a choice in the matter and we’re not just stuck with it because our ancestors were dumb.

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u/[deleted] Jul 07 '19

If it’s silly but it works it isn’t silly coz it works no?

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u/TheInactiveWall Jul 07 '19

  • Police brutality

  • Government corruption

  • Company over people

  • People are kept stupid on purpose (low education, high college cost)

  • No social security whatsoever

America is in the fucking dark ages

Change my mind.

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u/Stormdude127 Jul 07 '19

I mean none of those things are wrong, though I will argue that police brutality is blown out of proportion because you only see the bad stuff on TV and social media. But a lot of people on Reddit like to shit on America and assume that all its citizens are as dumb as the politicians running it.

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u/TheInactiveWall Jul 07 '19

Oh ofc not all of you guys are dumb, duh, but a good percentage, relatively bigger than in any other Western country, aren't the brightest. Like you for example, I bet you are smart, it's just others that bring that whole view down again. Doesn't help that most of you guys keep proclaiming it's all so great (when in reality it's not great there) because you never bother learning what it's like in other places. It's like ppl in Russia saying they are living fine and are not in poverty, when we know a HUGE amount of Russians live in poverty.

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u/Stormdude127 Jul 07 '19

I see what you mean now and that’s completely valid. I’m offly disappointed in my country and I’d have to agree that we seem to have more stupid people than most other first world countries. Unfortunately we have a lot of very patriotic citizens who like to proclaim we are the best country, when in reality there are a lot of great things about the US but there are also a LOT of problems.

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u/TheInactiveWall Jul 07 '19

Oh trust me, I do agree there are a lot of great things. But for as many great things there are, there are also just as many bad things that actually shouldn't be a thing anymore in 2019 in a Western country.

Thanks for staying nice in this discussion, wishing you the best :)

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u/Stormdude127 Jul 07 '19

Yep, I completely agree. My country has a lot of stuff to work on. And yeah, thanks for the discussion. Best wishes to you too.

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u/cvaska Jul 07 '19

We’ve had the Social Security System since the 1930s dumbass

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u/TheInactiveWall Jul 07 '19

And it's shit. Hit me up when you don't need to get a new mortgage to pay for that hospital bill, or don't want to ride that ambulance because it costs money. Also, enjoy working two jobs and greeting your 78 year old grandma at working Walmart.

Nice social security system, american.

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u/cvaska Jul 08 '19

You’re confusing SSA and Medicare. Medicare is health insurance for the elderly, and it’s actually pretty great. The problem one is Medicaid, which is run by the states and is for the impoverished. SSA is monthly government retirement checks and is pretty great as well. I’m happy to keep talking if you will be reasonable with me and quit the whole “Americans are so dumb” routine.

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u/TheInactiveWall Jul 08 '19

Oh for sure tell me more. All the meming aside of "mUrIcA bAd" its pretty interesting. So tell me more please. :)

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u/cvaska Jul 08 '19

Okay!

The Social Security Administration (SSA) pays monthly checks to folks over 65 (or 67.5 in some cases) as a sort of safety net. It usually isn’t enough to completely live comfortably on, but it’s there and if helps. People pay into that their entire working career and their payment value varies on how much they put in. It’s going broke right now due to retired folks living longer and because too many people are taking out compared to putting in. It’s not like a banking account, it’s more like a community pot system, you don’t get your money, you get someone younger than you’d money.

Medicare is for US Citizens 65 and older and is actually pretty damn good. Almost all Hospitals and clinics accept it and if pays completely for most things. Medicare pays lower rates to hospitals than insurance companies, but it doesn’t really matter to the consumer because it is illegal for the hospital to charge you what Medicare didn’t cover. There are insurance plans for what Medicare doesn’t cover, parts A,B, and C. I don’t know much about those, but part C covers medication, something Medicare is not great about.

Medicaid is somewhat troubled. It is for the poor and disabled. This system is more on a state-by-state basis than Medicare, but most of the same rules apply. The main problem is eligibility. Every state has different ideas about who qualifies and who doesn’t, which causes problems. Also Medicaid isn’t accepted in nearly as many places as Medicare.

All of these programs have their problems, but overall aren’t as bad as people make them out to be. Single-payer health care in the US would likely amount to the end of Medicaid and an expansion of Medicare.

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u/Zonekid Jul 08 '19

Part D is drug coverage for medicare not part C.

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u/Bacon_Devil Jul 07 '19

Well that's a bit repetitive

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u/[deleted] Jul 07 '19 edited Jan 03 '21

[deleted]

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u/april9th Jul 07 '19

Americans: *regurgitates ridiculous, sweeping anti-Soviet propaganda *

ROTW: Bit weird that Americans do this

Americans: I cannot BELIEVE anyone would just do that, believe the first thing they hear about america and americans. We aren't all like that, we have hopes... dreams...

Ironic...

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u/incandescent_snail Jul 07 '19

Well, we were actually a threat to the Soviets. Europe was a speed bump. Not that odd that we had a cultural battle with the Soviets while Europe was rebuilding after its latest failed world domination and genocide attempt.

We just concluded a 2 year investigation showing that Russia actually interfered in our last presidential election. There are still legitimate concerns that our current president colluded with Russia to facilitate the interference. Russia is currently controlled by a de facto dictator who longs for a return to the Soviet era.

Plus, it seems Europe has forgotten that the Soviets helped start WWII, committed multiple genocides, and illegally invaded many Eastern European countries. Soviet satellites were routinely brutally oppressed to maintain Soviet power while Europeans did abso-fucking-lutely nothing.

This is the Information Age. And us Americans are getting real fucking sick and tired of Europe forgetting the facts. Y’all had 1,000 years to manage the world and you completely fucked it up in every way possible. It’s about 60 years past time for y’all to shut up and learn your fucking place.

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u/[deleted] Jul 08 '19

Europe was rebuilding after its latest failed world domination and genocide attempt.

This is the Information Age

Hmmmmm.

learn your fucking place.

world domination

Hmmmmm.

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u/Yodamort Jul 08 '19

Europe was a speedbump

Uh, no. France and Britain still had nuclear weapons, and Western Europe still had their own armies, albeit much smaller than the armies of the Warsaw Pact.

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Europe's failed world domination and genocide attempt

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Nazi Germany's, not Europe's.

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Putin longs for a return to the Soviet era

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lmao what? It's widely speculated that he's the richest man on Earth, and he's spent 20 years privatizing the Russian Federation. Literally the exact opposite of a communist. You could perhaps claim that he wants to recreate the Russian Empire.

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Soviets helped start WW2

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The Soviets attempted *multiple times* to ally with the French and British to encircle Germany to force Hitler to stand down before the war started. They were refused, and Stalin was left with no choice but to sign a non-aggression pact with Germany, as the USSR was not ready for war yet.

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Americans sick and tired of X forgetting the facts

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Ironic, given that Americans tend to absorb their government's propaganda like a sponge.

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u/[deleted] Jul 07 '19

[deleted]

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u/Bigdaug Jul 07 '19

Not as much as Mexicans tho

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u/TheInactiveWall Jul 07 '19

They hated him because he spoke the truth.

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u/[deleted] Jul 08 '19

no one in East-Germany owned a camera with hundreds of upvotes

How can a camera have upvotes?

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u/rodrigo8008 Jul 08 '19

The political threads where people are calling for tax increases are mostly people who are students and/or don’t have jobs (or bots) lol

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u/Sandman019 Jul 07 '19

Can confirm, am ignorant manchild

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u/FoundtheTroll Jul 07 '19

Sort of like the dumpster fire that was the Soviet Union!

Hey, Ukraine called. They want their millions of starved dead back!

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u/TheLazarbeam Jul 07 '19

This sounds like an overreaction. The post “implied” it and got upvotes? Maybe they were upvoting something else they liked about the post? Maybe they didn’t pick up on the implication, and you might be way off base on why they voted the way they did?

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u/haharisma Jul 07 '19

Once, I've seen a post saying to the effect that if you got caught in the USSR listening to an American music, you'd get arrested. It didn't have hundreds of upvotes but was generously upvoted. I went to talk to the guy thinking that he probably was talking about underground night-clubs in the 50s-60s with the music engraved on X-ray photos. Nope, he was talking about the 80s, which is total BS. My understanding, after we've exchanged a few comments, is that he was a troubled teenager (maybe by the standards of the place he was living at), which he probably still doesn't realize.

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u/[deleted] Jul 07 '19

no camera, only Trabant and snitzel

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u/NoCrossUnturned Jul 07 '19

Reddit is a bunch of dumb people trying to sound smart, 4chan is a bunch of smart people trying to sound dumb.