Friday Funny: Flex Your Way to a Free Subway Ride

As Russia prepares to welcome to world to the 2014 Winter Olympics, subway riders in Moscow are being treated to a free trip. The only caveat: You'll need to complete 30 squats to earn your ticket.

1 minute read

November 15, 2013, 2:00 PM PST

By Jonathan Nettler @nettsj


"In an effort to promote both the upcoming Winter Olympic Games in Sochi and physical fitness, Moscow city officials and the Russian Olympic Committee are allowing subway riders to pay 30 squats instead of 30 rubles (about 92 cents) for a trip on the train," writes Michelle Castillo. "Riders perform the squats in front of a special machine which can tell if the person is in the correct position."

"The task isn't so simple, according to some people who dared to try it out," adds Castillo. "'It was hard at first but I managed it,' Lyudmila, a young woman who tried out the machine, told AFP. 'Two minutes is enough time.'"

Check out the video below to see the machine (and Muscovites) in action: 

Friday, November 8, 2013 in CBS News

Lake Powell with much of the water evaporated.

Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River

Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.

October 30, 2026 - Yale Environment 360

A road in north eastern Nebraska with power lines on either side, and grassy fields.

Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity

Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.

November 6, 2026 - Grist

A rendering of a mall turned living space. People walk around a green space surrounded by apartments.

Malls are becoming the midtowns of the future

Mall and office park redevelopments are a generational opportunity to create new nodes of urbanity.

October 29, 2026 - Ben Schneider

A car drives through a puddle in NYC

NYC breaks ground on anti-flooding infrastructure project

New York City's new system will reduce stormwater flows to local sewers by 90%.

November 9 - Smart Cities Dive

Members of the Smoketown CLT gather for a photo

One Kentucky town’s secret to affordable housing

The Smoketown Community Land Trust has already built seven affordable homes for community members.

November 9 - Reasons to Be Cheerful

Two people stand under mesh coverings shaped like petals

Houston gains petal-shaped cooling infrastructure to make streets more ‘delightful’

The city has installed the pavilions along 15 blocks in Houston.

November 9 - De Zeen

FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?

After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.

Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold

The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.