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TIL In 1971, Kissinger said to Nixon: “I don’t see why we need to stand by and watch a country go communist due to the irresponsibility of its people.” He was referring to Chile’s democratic choice of a communist leader, Salvador Allende.

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DrLr TIL that in 2009 Canada passed the “Apology Act”, establishing that apologizing to someone after an incident cannot be used in court against the person who apologized to establish their guilt or liability.
Z8ZJB TIL there is a Russian version of the Lord of the Rings based on the premise that the original LOTR is a "history written by the victors;" in reality Mordor was on the verge of an industrial revolution which was a threat to the war-mongering and imperialistic faction represented by Gandalf/the elves
m1xeM TIL pork butt is not the rear end of the pig, it's actually the shoulder. The pork shoulders were named after the barrels they used to be kept in, which were called butts.
9YJ1p TIL that Joko Widodo, the current President of Indonesia, likes hard rock music a lot - he once had a bass guitar that was signed by Robert Trujillo, was given a signed copy of "Master of Puppets" by a former Danish President, and went to a rock festival in 2013 while he was Governor of Jakarta.
BrPOe TIL that the first Diet Soda was "No-Cal Ginger Ale". It was originally developed in 1952 for Diabetics and used the sweetener Calcium Cyclamate, which is presently banned in the United States.