10 Killer Tech Innovations You Didn’t Know Came from the Soviet Union
Carly Tennes
Published
12/15/2024
in
wow
Americans may be more than familiar with our technological feats — the moon landing, the telephone, spray cheese — but we're far from the only country to lean into the spirit of innovation. Just take a look at the Soviet Union's world-changing spacecraft, phones and video games.
From organ transplant techniques to a flame-throwing car, here are 10 killer inventions you didn't know came from the Soviet Union.
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1. Organ Transplant Methods
Image Source Unknown“Organ transplant pioneer, Vladimir Demikhov, created heart, lung, liver, and artificial heart transplant methods still used today. Though he's infamous for successfully grafting heads of dogs on to other dogs.” -
2. Tetris
Courtesy of tetris.com“When Alexey Pajitnov invented Tetris in 1984, he earned no royalties for it due to living under the Soviet government. It was only in 1996, after he moved to the United States and founded The Tetris Company, that he started making money off of it.” -
3. Moon Rovers
Courtesy of Petar Milošević“The first remote-controlled robot to land on another celestial body was the Soviet Lunokhod 1, which landed on the Moon in November 1970.” -
4. The Mobile Phone
Courtesy of BurtGummer1911Cell phones as we know and love them date back to 1961, when Soviet engineer Leonid Ivanovich Kupriyanovich invented a radio phone that could fit inside of a user’s hand. -
5. Images of the Moon’s Far Side
Courtesy of the USSR“The Soviet Union captured the first images of the far side of the moon in 1959 using radiation-resistant film recovered from a downed US spy balloon. This technology was essential to protect the film from radiation in space, and the Soviets were unable to produce their own at the time.” -
6. Venus-Bound Spacecrafts
Image in Public Domain“The Soviets sent more than a dozen spacecraft to Venus over 30 years as part of their Venera Program. Some missions failed, but many succeeded: Venera 3 was the first spacecraft to crash into another planet, while Venera 9 captured the first images from the surface of another planet.” -
7. The Artificial Satellite
Courtesy of Andrew Butko“Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite put into space, transmitted on 20.005 and 40.002 MHz which were detectable by amateur radio operators. After orbiting for about 3 weeks, its batteries had died. Two months later, it burned up, falling back into the atmosphere, kick-starting the space race.” -
8. The Theremin
Image in Public Domain“The Theremin was invented by a Soviet scientist when he added a sonic element to his gas density analyzer. It is the only musical instrument that is played without touching it.” -
9. The Motion-Activated Alarm
Courtesy of I, BrokenSphereThe Theremin was far from Leon Theremin’s only invention. Using a similar technology, he also invented a motion-activated burglar alarm in the 1920s. -
10. The Flamethrower Car
Courtesy of m3antar on Reddit“A Russian car enthusiast based in Krasnodar modified a Soviet-era sedan to shoot fire, an invention he claims was the world’s first flamethrower car.’”
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Organ Transplant Methods
“Organ transplant pioneer, Vladimir Demikhov, created heart, lung, liver, and artificial heart transplant methods still used today. Though he's infamous for successfully grafting heads of dogs on to other dogs.”
“Organ transplant pioneer, Vladimir Demikhov, created heart, lung, liver, and artificial heart transplant methods still used today. Though he's infamous for successfully grafting heads of dogs on to other dogs.”
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