Listeners Applaud Program (Jun, 1937)
Listeners Applaud Program
BY PRESSING an electric switch, radio listeners may express approval of a current radio program. Holding down a small switch attached to the base of a small lamp placed near the radio, the increased current drain is shown at the local power plant or substation.
Now being used in France, the idea was first tried out by an American power company working with an eastern broadcasting chain.
Pretty frigging dumb!
A top rated program will have us applaud ourselves into a blackout.
John: It also seems like a show could spike their ratings just by asking all of their listeners to turn on their toasters.
Why would the power station care about or report the results to the radio station? Pretty low tech even for 1937.
Thank you Charlie. This one really cracked me up. It’s so dumb it’s beautiful.
There’s also the question of how anyone would know that an increase in power came from a particular home, what caused the increase, and how they’d know what station was on the radio at the time. This one’s gotta be on the all-time list of dumb ideas.
looks even more open to being fixed than the Xfactor / Come Danceing , such fun with that 1Kw arclamp