You know, there are quite a few photos in there that really do remind me of the 1980s here in the US, especially the ones with the kids.
![Image](http://englishrussia.com/images/soviet_era_chronicles/17.jpg)
![Image](http://englishrussia.com/images/soviet_era_chronicles/56.jpg)
![Image](http://englishrussia.com/images/soviet_era_chronicles/1.jpg)
![Image](http://englishrussia.com/images/soviet_era_chronicles/4.jpg)
![Image](http://englishrussia.com/images/soviet_era_chronicles/8.jpg)
![Image](http://englishrussia.com/images/soviet_era_chronicles/9.jpg)
Moderator: Edi
I don't know what they are called, though I have seen something like it before: it's a theraputic thing, with the air in the glass spheres being heated with a lighted wick before placing it upon the skin. The heating drives out some of the air. Thus, the pressure in the bubbles becomes lower than the ambient pressure when it cools again, forcing blood to the skin, inducing circulation.
Thanks, that's the sort of thing that would have bugged me for days otherwise.MKSheppard wrote:The is a medical preventive care procedure - phototherapy. The lamp in the middle beams ultraviolet and bright visible light. Sessions were held in schools and kindergartens during late autumn and winter time, when there was little natural insolation, to prevent hypovitaminosis, and improve immunity in children.
That's a quartz lamp. It empits UV light, that's supposed to be good for you. My parents used to have one of these for me, back when I was a kid (in the 80s!)
Medical cupsWhat the hell are the bubbles on that guys back?
Not that much. Gas water machines were usually placed in well-overseen streets.Pelranius wrote:I suppose that the vending machine maintenance people didn't worry about hooligans smashing/stealing the cup?
Until you got beaten up by the police for celebrating 3rd of May...oh, sorry. That was in Poland in the 80sPelranius wrote:Looks like a nice country actually, from what's in the photo spread.
There were less hooligans back then, which is natural in a totalitarian state.Patrick Degan wrote:I suppose that the vending machine maintenance people didn't worry about hooligans smashing/stealing the cup?
What did you think it was, a Third World shithole?Patrick Degan wrote:Looks like a nice country actually, from what's in the photo spread.
Of course. Poland wanted to break free from the USSR, which caused political unrest, etc. etc. Provincial USSR, on the other hand, didn't think jack shit about politics. Life was calm and still, even during Gorbachov times. And, well, it was great.PeZook wrote:This post concerns Poland in the 80s. Another socialist worker-paradise state, but I'm told there were crucial differences.
Nah, it's a Second World shithole by definition.Stas Bush wrote:What did you think it was, a Third World shithole?Patrick Degan wrote:Looks like a nice country actually, from what's in the photo spread.
The "Second World" (and the Third, too) wasn't uniform either. Most of the ~0.8 HDI countries enjoyed a decent level of life. Those who were below the threshold, not quite so.Beowulf wrote:Nah, it's a Second World shithole by definition.
Hey, it was a nice country, nicer than 90% of the world. The province in Poland was pretty much as you described the USSR's, and standard of living was high enough so that people didn't starve. It's just life wasn't all rosy, especially when dealing with the government, because it was full of assholes who could do stuff to you if they wanted, and nobody could really stop them...Star Bush wrote:Of course. Poland wanted to break free from the USSR, which caused political unrest, etc. etc. Provincial USSR, on the other hand, didn't think jack shit about politics. Life was calm and still, even during Gorbachov times. And, well, it was great.PeZook wrote:This post concerns Poland in the 80s. Another socialist worker-paradise state, but I'm told there were crucial differences.
It was almost exactly like that here. The system collapsed not because of periodic student uprisings, but because of a prolonged period of economic crisis, when worker's unions started to rebel. Prices soared, the country was up to it's ears in foreign debt, there was literally nothing but peas and vodka in the stores, and the government was so heavy handed in dealing with some strikes (that is: live ammo) that it all just came crashing down after a brief period of social unrest.Star Bush wrote:We cared little for what was going on the capital. By 1991, we understood what happened only when prices soared, we suddenly ran out of food, all factories stopped and those which didn't, stopped paying any salary whatsoever, street shootouts and murders of factory bosses became common.
Um, not anything I said, actually.PeZook wrote:Patrick Degan wrote:I suppose that the vending machine maintenance people didn't worry about hooligans smashing/stealing the cup?
Just an observation.Stas Bush wrote:What did you think it was, a Third World shithole?Patrick Degan wrote: Looks like a nice country actually, from what's in the photo spread.