4 ms·
> It always amazes me how the ridiculuous old fashioned non-electric kettles are still popular in USA. One thing that I find genuinely amazing is that power-co
by stevekemp 13y ago
> It always amazes me how the ridiculuous old fashioned non-electric kettles are still popular in USA.
One thing that I find genuinely amazing is that power-companies can spot when there are commercial-breaks in TV programs by people in the country making tea en masse:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TV_pickup http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TV_pickup
- rmc 13y agoNot only can they see the spike, they have to plan for it. I've heard for some popular programmes/events (like a sports event or popular episode), they'll employ someone to watch the TV show and press a button the second the adverts come on, to turn on the power generators that can spin up quickly. There's a power generator that can come fully into operation in 12 seconds[1] [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinorwig_power_station http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinorwig_power_station