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TIL when Mao Zedong received Nikita Khrushchev for a state visit in 1958, he had figured out Khrushchev could not swim. Mao, who loved swimming, decided to hold the meeting in his private swimming pool, forcing Khrushchev to wear floaties while they talked.

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MN0A TIL the Federal Tax Code is 73,954 pages long. One hundred years ago it was only 400 pages.
Dn0e Today I learned that in 1680, the time of the Puritans, an X-rated sex manual was sold in mainstream bookstores called “This Misterie of Fucking.” It promoted premarital sex and masturbation and contained crude etchings of different positions.
DWpD TIL Xerox has an “adopt a plant” program where employees water an office plant, saving the company $200,000 per year on watering services.
jWeM TIL modern sports betting originated in 19th century competitive walking, called pedestrianism. Pedestrianism started when English aristocracy would match their servants against each other in walking contests and bet heavily on the outcome.
1ad1X TIL Jane Stanford, founder of Stanford University, was murdered by strychnine poisoning. The president of the university at the time, David Starr Jordan, was suspected of covering up the murder. The killer was never found.