Flexi discs actually proved to be invaluable to listeners in Soviet Russia, for whom Western rock music was banned throughout the regime in the 80s and 90s. The flexible vinyl could not only be smuggled and hidden easier than heavy-weights, but was even made of similar materials as hospital X-ray sheets. Sure enough, bootleggers and smugglers began hiding forbidden music in plain sight using these X-rays. Flexi discs became an important part of Eastern music culture, and carried them a bit farther than their expiry dates elsewhere in the world.