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Interesting facts about TV. Interesting Facts, Surprising Facts, Unknown Facts at Fact Museum Interesting TV Facts for Kids

More recently, it was difficult for us to imagine our life without TV even for a minute. Thanks to its presence, we could have a good time watching our favorite TV shows. But scientific and technological progress did not stand still, which led to the emergence of many technical innovations. Today, phones, tablets, computers, laptops and other modern gadgets are very popular. Despite the fact that television has begun to fade into the background, I think it will be interesting for you to learn amazing facts about TVs and delve into the history of their creation.

12 facts about TVs

1. Back in 1884 and 1906, scientists invented devices that would become the basis of mechanical television in the future. The first television receiver was invented by Max Dieckmann in 1907 with a screen only 3 by 3 cm. The scanning frequency of this receiver was 10 frames per second.

2. The first transmitting electron tube iconoscope was created by Vladimir Zworykin in 1931. With this discovery, he made a real breakthrough in all electronic television.

3. The first TVs measuring 13 by 25 cm began to be produced in large volumes in the USA.

4. The television era in the US began with a funny incident. During an advertisement for one company, a very clear and believable image of a cockroach appeared on televisions. After some time, everyone learned about the presence of two lawsuits in court. It turned out that two people, thinking that these were real cockroaches on TVs, smashed them to destroy the crawling monster.

5. According to statistics, the Japanese spend the most time watching TV. It takes them about 9 hours a day to do it.

6. In families where the habit of watching television programs at meals is ingrained, there is a violation of digestion.

7. The most short-lived TVs are plasma. They are designed for only 300 hours of operation. After this period has elapsed, the display will gradually fade. This is due to high operating temperatures.

8. Laser TVs currently occupy the first position in terms of durability. They were patented in 2008. Their advantage is in the color range, which is wider compared to others, as well as the ability to maintain a high refresh rate (up to 240 Hz). The pixels of these screens are not subject to fading, which prolongs the life of the lasers. Laser TVs consume several times less electricity than LCD TVs.

9. In China, there is a cemetery of televisions, where about 90 thousand faulty equipment has already recovered.

10. It has been proven that color TVs are less harmful to the eyes than black and white ones.

11. Some of the cutting-edge models of this technique are surprisingly effective in relieving congestion by stimulating the eye muscles.

12. If a person lives in the UK and owns a TV, he is required to pay a certain amount of tax annually.

It would be appropriate to mention the main wisdom of life: without knowing the history, the future is impossible. So, you have plunged a little into the history and facts about such a “miracle of technology” as a TV. Now, knowing all these facts, you will be able to draw conclusions from mistakes and create technical progress in our future. By learning these fun facts, you improve the quality of your life. It has long been known that knowledge is the engine of progress.

One more fact that I would like to add on my own behalf. As you know, everything is good in moderation. The influence of viewing advertising on the zombie of a person has been repeatedly noticed. Viewing this tempting technique leads to a deterioration in the figure, as the person moves little and constantly absorbs food. Think about how much time you devote to this "little family member." But you could devote this time to your family and friends, read an informative book, go in for sports, take a walk in the fresh air and improve your health. Therefore, you should know not only the facts about TVs, but also all the pros and cons of watching it. After all, everyone knows the catchphrase of the famous ancient Greek healer and physician Hippocrates that everything in small doses is a medicine, and in large doses it is poison. Take note of this and take all your hobbies seriously.

In which country did they try to prevent the development of color television due to fears of social stratification?

When color televisions appeared in Israel in the 1970s, the government considered them an unjustified luxury that contributed to social stratification, and instructed TV channels to continue broadcasting in black and white, and to remove the color component from imported programs and films. To do this, the so-called sync pulse was suppressed at television stations, due to which a special module in television receivers interpreted color as noise and removed it. However, engineers immediately came up with an “anti-suppressor” device that was sold in stores for 10% of the price of a new TV. The inconvenience was that about once every 15 minutes the color disappeared, and the audience had to twist a special knob to restore it. A few years later, officials found that the vast majority of viewers had bought anti-suppressants and lifted the ban.

What kind of person, having come to an interview for the position of an IT specialist, became a TV star?

On May 8, 2006, an emigrant from the Republic of the Congo named Guy Goma got on the air of the BBC news channel, although he came to the television center for an interview for the position of an IT specialist. The expert Guy Kewney, who was actually supposed to be interviewed, was in another waiting room, but due to erroneous tips from an assistant, a BBC employee invited Gom into the studio. He realized that there was a mistake when the presenter had already introduced him as Kewnie, but he was not at a loss and answered all the questions about downloading music from the Internet. After this incident, Goma became a local TV star and took part in many TV shows on various channels, but he never got a job at the BBC.

Where and when did coughing lead to charges and convictions?

In 2001, Charles Ingram won the British TV show Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, winning £1 million. However, the payment was delayed when he, as well as his wife and accomplice Tekwen Wittock, who were present at the shooting, were suspected of cheating. It turned out that Wittock coughed every time the host, listing the answers, pronounced the correct one. All three denied malicious intent, but were found guilty and fined by the court, and received suspended sentences ranging from 12 to 18 months.

What, according to Bradbury, is the meaning of Fahrenheit 451?

Most readers consider the suppression of individuality through government censorship to be the main theme of the novel Fahrenheit 451, but Ray Bradbury himself states that such a perception is incorrect. The main message of the author lies in the danger of television, which destroys interest in reading literature, replacing it with entertainment, and deep knowledge with superficial "factoids".

Which prisoners unwittingly staged their own execution in the electric chair?

In the history of American prisons, there are two cases when the defendants were changed from the death penalty to life imprisonment, but death by electricity still found them. In 1989, Michael Anderson Godwin set up an electric chair for himself, sitting on a metal toilet in his cell while repairing a television set. The short circuit occurred when he had a bite of postings. In 1997, a similar incident happened to Lawrence Baker - he also sat on a metal toilet, watching TV in homemade headphones.

Where and when did viewers witness a live suicide?

In 1974, American television journalist Christine Chubbuck committed suicide live on the Florida channel WXLT-TV. Chubbuck was responsible for preparing crime and homicide news. At the eighth minute of her next talk show, an overlay happened - the story about the shooting in the restaurant was not aired. Then the journalist said: “In accordance with the channel’s policy of broadcasting the most violent scenes in bright colors, you will become the first witnesses of a suicide attempt,” after which [the information was removed at the request of Roskomnadzor].

Why do Berliners call the city's TV tower "the pope's revenge"?

Just above the middle of the Berlin TV tower built in 1965 is a stainless steel ball. When the sun illuminates it, a reflection in the form of a cross appears on the ball. In this regard, the Berliners gave several witty nicknames to the tower, alluding to the persecution of the church and the cultivation of atheism during the years of the GDR. Among them is the "revenge of the pope", another option is the Church of St. Walter - an ironic reference to the name of Walter Ulbricht, who led the GDR for twenty years.

What surprise did Muse come up with when they were forced to play to a backing track?

Once the Muse group was invited to perform on Italian television, but they were forced to do it to the soundtrack. The musicians did not boycott the performance, but switched roles. Lead singer and guitarist Matthew Bellamy sat on the drums, drummer Dominic Howard took the bass guitar at the microphone, and bass player Chris Wolstenholme took the guitar and stood at the keyboards. And after the performance of the song, the drummer also answered questions as a frontman.

Why was the chiming of the chimes on television delayed for a minute during the meeting of the New Year 1992?

At the end of 1991, there was complete confusion with the New Year's address to the people. Gorbachev was formally the president of the USSR, but he didn’t decide anything, and Yeltsin also couldn’t congratulate him for unknown reasons. The honorary role was offered to Mikhail Zadornov, who was the host of the Blue Light. The satirist spoke live and was so carried away that he spoke for a minute longer. For his sake, the chimes were delayed.

How many times, on average, does an American police officer shoot during his career?

According to statistics, the average American police officer uses a service weapon every 27 years in his career. And in the television series, the average police officer shoots at least 10 times to kill.

What game got a second life thanks to color TV?

The billiard game of snooker fell into decline in the mid-20th century. However, interest in her again greatly increased after the BBC channel chose her to demonstrate the benefits of color television and began to broadcast all the championships. The green table and multi-colored snooker balls were perfect for this purpose.

On August 18, 1900, Russian engineer Konstantin Persky proposed the word "television". During the existence of TV, many interesting events took place on it. We have collected for you the most curious facts about television.

The longest-running TV show appeared in Russia. Yuri Alexandrovich Senkevich was even listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the host of the longest-lived program - "Cinema Travel Club".

But the longest television series was not Santa Barbara, as many people think, but Guiding Light. It has been running since 1937. True, first on the radio. It was released on TV in 1952 and lasted until 2009. A total of 15 thousand 763 episodes were shown.

The most popular series on TV was CSI (Crime Scene) - 2008.

Why are soap operas called that? It's all pretty banal. In the 1930s, serial programs appeared on American radio with simple tear-jerking stories. Their sponsors were manufacturers of soap and other detergents, as the main audience of these programs were housewives. Therefore, the expression "soap opera" was attached to the radio, and later to the television series.

In the era of black and white television, the presenters sat in the frame, smeared with green lipstick and blush of the same color. The thing is that cameras at that time often used red filters, because of which red lipstick made lips look pale on TV screens. Therefore, announcers and actresses were made up with green blush and lipstick.

The first experimental transmissions in Moscow began in 1931. However, televisions, or receivers, as they were then called, were not yet released. However, resourceful Muscovites have already watched the programs! How? The Moscow Speaks magazine proudly reported that more than thirty home-made televisions were already operating in the capital at that time.

In 1973, the popular American TV presenter Johnny Carson joked on the air of his show that there was a crisis in the production of toilet paper in the country and that its stocks in stores were rapidly declining. This provoked a real shortage of toilet paper - although Carson apologized the next day, it was already too late. An acute shortage of this product on sale was felt for another three weeks.

In 1962, viewers in Sweden were taught how to watch color TV. On April 1, the channel's technical expert told viewers that thanks to the new technology, they can easily switch from black and white to color. To do this, a nylon stocking had to be put on the TV, which he demonstrated live.

The .tv domain that TV sites like to register with is not a generic domain like .com or .org. It belongs to the small state of Tuvalu, in Oceania. The government of Tuvalu receives more than 2 million dollars a year for the right to use the domain - this is a tenth of all the income of this state.

American evangelist Billy Graham broke his promise not to watch TV when the Beatles appeared on the Ed Sullivan show for the first time.

Aljazeera is the most popular TV channel in the world. According to some reports, its audience is 2 billion people.

In 1996, the UN General Assembly proposed to celebrate World Television Day, November 21, with the aim of exchanging television programs about peace, security, economic and social development and the expansion of cultural exchange.

The life of a modern person is difficult to imagine without television, because today there are no states in the world that are not covered by television broadcasting.

AiF.ru offers a selection of interesting facts from the history of television.

The project of the Ostankino TV tower was conceived overnight

After the Great Patriotic War in the USSR, it was decided to improve the quality of television broadcasting, which required the construction of an additional TV tower. Soviet scientist Nikolai Nikitin in one night came up with the project of the Ostankino television tower. In Europe, the Ostankino Tower is considered the largest free-standing structure. Its height is 540 meters (45 floors). For almost 10 years, it was the tallest tower in the world. Prior to the construction of the Ostankino television tower, constant broadcasting of television programs was provided through the Shukhov tower on Shabolovka.

Ostankino Tower. Photo: RIA Novosti

СNN is the first round-the-clock broadcasting channel

CNN became the first round-the-clock news broadcast channel. In America, the channel was nicknamed the "Chicken Noodle Network" (English - Chicken Hoodie Network). The television company broadcasts on six continents and four languages - English, Spanish, Turkish and German, and its audience has more than a billion viewers. CNN was one of the first to switch to digital technology.

CNN, Atlanta. Photo: commons.wikimedia.org

Tallest TV tower in Japan

The Sky Tree is the tallest tower structure ever built. The height of the tower is 634 m. Tokyo Tower is not only a TV tower, but also a huge entertainment and shopping complex. A total of 580 thousand people took part in its construction, and during the final stage of construction, 1,200 people were at the very top at a time. A total of $812 million was spent on Skytree.

Tokyo Sky Tree. Photo: commons.wikimedia.org

Kiev TV Tower - the tallest lattice structure in the world

The Kiev TV Tower is a high-rise building with a height of 380 meters, it is the highest of the lattice structures in the world. A unique feature of the design is that no bolts or rivets were used during the installation of the tower elements, all connections are made by electric welding. The 24-story tower is part of the television center, a complex of buildings built on the site of a destroyed Jewish cemetery. The construction of the complex began in 1983, but to this day the construction of the television center has not been completed.

Kyiv TV tower. Photo: commons.wikimedia.org

The first advertising on television cost the customer nine dollars

The history of paid television advertising has been running its record since July 1, 1941. It was on this day that a ten-second commercial of the Bulova Watch Company was shown on television in the United States. It cost the customer nine dollars, including manufacturing. In the USSR, the year of birth of the first television advertisement is 1964. It was then that a short film with elements of a musical about corn was aired. And the most famous commercial in the world is considered to be "1984", dedicated to the Macintosh computer. Directed by Ridley Scott, it was commissioned by Apple. The price of the video was 900 thousand dollars for 90 seconds.

In England there is a tax on watching TV

In the UK, there is a tax on television, since 2010 it has been 145.50 pounds per year. Its collection ensures the operation of the BBC public television channel without commercials. All households are required to pay a license fee, regardless of the method of receiving a television signal. All TV sellers must report buyer addresses to a special database that the BBC uses to send letters to tax evaders.

The announcers used green lipstick in their make-up.

In the era of black and white television, presenters used green lipstick before the broadcasts. She stood out more than red when the picture went through the red filters of cameras, and red lipstick made lips look pale on TV screens.

Why are TV series called "soap operas"?

In the 1930s, serial programs with simple plots appeared on American radio. They were sponsored by manufacturers of soap and other detergents, since the main audience of these programs were housewives. Therefore, the expression "soap opera" was attached to the radio, and later to the television series.

The longest series is not "Santa Barbara"

The longest series in the world - the American "Guiding Light" is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest film on television. It had 15762 episodes. It was watched by several generations of viewers, starting in 1952.

Santa Barbara. Photo: Frame from the film

Most Expensive TV Contract

The most expensive television contract is the contract with Oprah Winfrey. For six years (from 1994 to 2000) he brought the Harpo company $ 300 million. Oprah Winfrey owns her own film studio and a personalized cable TV channel OWN.

Television plays an important role in the life of modern man. For the past century, it has provided people with news, entertained them, made them laugh, cry or even frighten them. It started in the early days of black and white TVs and continues into today's colorful flat screens. In this review, we will talk about the little-known, incredible and just funny facts related to television.

1. The power of persuasion

In 1969, the US wanted to cut the public broadcasting budget. Rogers, who was relatively unknown at the time, went to Washington to convince Congress. As a result, the estimated budget of $9 million was increased to $22 million.

2. Chanel hasn't been stingy

3. Black and white or color?

It is known that most people dream in color. However, people who grew up in the era of black and white television tend to dream in black and white.

4. Ban on viewing

Philo Taylor Farnsworth is considered the inventor of modern television. Interestingly, he did not allow his children to watch TV.

5. "The house is closed for repairs"

In the USA for 9 years (2003-2012) the reality show "The House is closed for renovation" was extremely popular. Few people know that it has led many families to bankruptcy and foreclosure of their property.

6. TV tax

In the UK, people who own a TV must pay a $230 TV tax to support the BBC.

7. Tireless Dave Thomas

Dave Thomas, the founder of the American fast food chain Wendy's, has appeared in more than 800 commercials for his company. No one in history has made more commercials.

8. TV station takeover

In 1987, a man hijacked a television station during an episode of Doctor Who. He appeared on the screens of the whole country in a mask and for some time spoke some kind of nonsense. In the end this stranger
never got caught.

9. "TV Ghost"

In the 1930s, the television series Ghost was shown on the screens. In it, an actor, disguised as a dead man, talked about how he was killed.

10. Product placement is illegal

In Norway, product placement is illegal. This is an implicit advertisement in which the characters of films and TV programs use products that have real commercial counterparts.

11. "CSI effect"

Thanks to television series about the work of the police, criminals have learned to better cover up the traces of their crimes. This has been called the "CSI Effect".

12. The first pianist on TV

American pianist Earl Wild was the first person to play the piano on television. 60 years later, he became the first person to stream video on the Internet.

13. 15 years of life on TV

On average, each person in the United States spends 15 years of their life watching television. 70% of Russians watch TV every day.

14. Longest Animated Series

The Simpsons is the longest animated series in American television history. The second longest animated series is "Hey Arnold!".

15. The most popular series in the world

The British TV show Top Gear is the most watched series in the world.

16. Live Suicide

In 1974, television presenter Christine Chubbuck announced during a television broadcast that "in accordance with Channel 40's policy of as much blood and guts as possible on the air, a suicide attempt will be shown to television viewers for the first time." She then pulled out a gun and killed herself by shooting herself in the head.

17. "Death Rooms"

Death Rooms is a 1995 documentary series that showed Chinese orphanages. In it, children died of hunger more than once.

18. TV - Great Manipulator

Wayfarer sunglasses almost became a heirloom in the 1980s. However, Ray-Ban signed a product placement deal that saw the glasses appear in nearly 60 TV shows and movies, skyrocketing their popularity.

19. 5 hours daily

Today, people watch much less TV due to the rapid development of the Internet. However, the average American still spends 5 hours every day watching TV.

20. First interracial kiss

The first interracial kiss on American television was shown during an episode of Star Trek. Interestingly, the scene was filmed with and without a kiss, but the actors (Shatner and Nichols) intentionally messed up every shot without the kiss.

21. TV broadcast cost $100 million

After President Kennedy died in 1963, television networks broadcast only the scene of his funeral for 4 days non-stop. It cost $100 million in lost advertising revenue.

22. TV on mobile devices

Progress does not stand still. 25% of people watch TV shows on mobile devices.

23. 17 days of advertising life

It is unlikely that there will be at least one person who likes annoying ads. In the United States, people spend about 17 days of their lives watching commercials.

24. John Munch

John Munch (played by Richard Belzer) is the only fictional character played by the same actor, featured in 10 different television series. These include Law & Order and The X-Files.