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A construction worker pushes a cart past hotel buildings in Sochi on Tuesday. Photo: AP This post was originally published on Mashable.
If schadenfreude were an Olympic sport, the internet would have already earned a gold medal.
Just how popular has piling on Sochi become? This week, the hashtag #SochiProblems had been mentioned on social media platforms more than "Team USA" "Putin" or "opening ceremony", according to online marketing and monitoring company Digimind.
But the unquestioned star of this Haterade binge has been the aptly-named @SochiProblems Twitter account. Its premise is simple - aggregate and retweet photos showing Sochi's bad side. The content is sometimes sad and disturbing. It's often funny, in a dark sort of way. It's almost always a hit.
The account has boomed to more than 147,000 followers since posting its first tweet on Tuesday. Adding thousands of followers per hour, @SochiProblems has surpassed the official @Sochi2014 account, which had 131,000 followers at the time of writing.
Ever since journalists first began touching down in the Winter Games' host city earlier this week, " Sochi problems" has been the hottest conversation topic out of Russia.
Instead of snowboarding, we've seen putrid tap water. Instead of skiing, we've seen dilapidated hotel rooms still under construction. Instead of bobsledding, we've seen toilets that can't flush paper. And that's not even mentioning the journalist who took to Twitter in hopes of trading three light bulbs (precious commodities at his hotel) for a door handle.
Here's a taste of why @SochiProblems has become so popular:
We paid for 3 Sochi hotel rooms days ago,then left for 2 days on a trip (with the keys!). Came back to find guests living in all 3 rooms. - Ivan Watson (@IvanCNN) February 6, 2014
#Sochi2014 because who doesn't want to use a public restroom with completely mirrored ceilings? thanks shayba arena! http://ift.tt/1g6b9pp - Steph Stricklen (@StephStricklen) February 6, 2014
A lot of complaints about the accommodations. This is the foyer of my apartment. #SochiProblems http://ift.tt/1ivnvsI - Mark Connolly (@MarkConnollyCBC) February 6, 2014
Remember - elevator is the equipment of increased danger! #sochi http://ift.tt/1l1VkmS - Matt Galloway (@mattgallowaycbc) February 6, 2014
Luckily for @jianghomeshi, I have extra lightbulb but need doorknob in return. #SochiProblems #Sochi2014 http://ift.tt/1bzG3H8 - Sochi Problems (@SochiProblems) February 5, 2014
@HarryCNN having no luck in Sochi. #SochiProblems #Sochi #Sochi2014 #Olympics http://ift.tt/1fUGahc - Sochi Problems (@SochiProblems) February 4, 2014
No flush, must play basketball with used toilet paper. #SochiProblems #Sochi2014 http://ift.tt/1l1VpXI - Sochi Problems (@SochiProblems) February 4, 2014
Hopefully, after Friday's opening ceremony, actual sports - not used-toilet-paper basketball - will be our main topic of conversation. Mashableis the largest independent news source covering digital culture, social media and technology.
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