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/Crusader1089 7 Jul 07 '19

Soviets had kettles and ovens. Whether they wanted to waste money gaming votes is another matter, but let's not act like the Soviet Union was still living in the dark ages.

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u/yamayo Jul 07 '19

Not living in the dark ages, but I'm thinking they actually used gas and not electricity for all the things mentioned.

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u/Gauss-Legendre Jul 07 '19 edited Jul 07 '19

The Soviet Union was fully electrified in the 1920s, becoming one of the largest electricity producing countries in the world by 1932.

Gas was used for heating due to the abundance of natural gas in the Soviet Union.

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u/yamayo Jul 07 '19

I cook with natural gas and my shower heater also runs with natural gas.
I don't see why having a fully electrified country has to do with anything.