A Soviet Solution to the Capitalist Olympics

The Spartakiad was the name of an international sports event that the Soviet Union invented in the late 1920s to both oppose and supplement the Olympics.

The name, derived from the name of the slave rebel leader,Spartacus, was supposed to symbolize proletarian internationalism because Spartacus’ revolt united slaves from diverse ethnic backgrounds within the Roman Empire. As a Classical figure, Spartacus also stood directly in contrast to the aristocratic nature of the Ancient Olympic Games on which the modern “capitalist” Olympics were, according to the Soviet hierarchy, supposedly based.

The first Winter Spartakiad was held in February 1928 in Oslo, and the first Summer Spartakiad was held in August 1928 in Moscow.  In 1952 the Soviet Union decided to join the Olympic movement, and international Spartakiads ceased. However the term persisted for internal sports events in the Soviet Union of different levels, from local up to the Spartakiad of the Peoples of the USSR. The latter event was held twice in four years: Winter Spartakiad and Summer Spartakiad, with international participation.

The first Soviet Spartakiad was held in 1956. These events were of huge importance for Soviet sports. Everyone could participate in them - from ordinary people to top-level athletes. The number of participants, for example, in the 6th Summer Spartakiad of the Peoples of the USSR, was 90 million people (twice the number of athletes in the USSR in that time). 

Why Do Tennis Balls Go Flat?

A tennis ball is essentially a pressurized rubber ball covered with cloth. The rubber is not completely impermeable, however, and slowly leaks over time, just like a latex balloon eventually loses its air. 

In a game, when the ball hits the court surface, the outside of the ball caves towards the center to make an indent on the side. That force pushes the air inside in the opposite direction (towards the other side). The outward force of the indent pushes the ball away from the court surface, which means the ball bounces up. More and more air keeps on getting out over time until there is not enough pressure inside a ball to help bounce it back up.

Also, the rubber loses some of its elasticity, although that effect is probably negligible, inasmuch as even unused tennis balls that have been removed from their pressure pack become “dead.”