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TIL Once a Finnish farmer plowed up and accidentally cut the cable which connected Moscow to Washington, famously known as the "Red Telephone", put in place after the Cuban Missile Crisis out of the necessity of a quick, clear, and direct communication line between the two superpowers.

rRWXM TIL that Reese's peanut butter cups were also originally called "penny cups" since they cost just one cent each when Harry Burnett Reese first started selling them in 1928. The penny cups were so successful that Reese was able to sell them in 5-pound boxes to local retailers.
Ypnmv TIL in 2006 the Space Integration Branch of the U.S. Marine Corps in Arlington, VA began developing sub-orbital spaceships to move troops anywhere on the planet in under two hours. Marine Colonel Jack Wassink expects the first prototype to be ready in 2021.
jNmaE TIL that until the mid 20th century the avocado had a reputation as an aphrodisiac, which actually discouraged some consumers. During the 1920s, growers sponsored a promotional advertising campaign in the United States to deny that the avocado had powers for inducing sexual prowess.
vPEx4 TIL that in 1992 the US Postal service held a vote over whether official stamp of Elvis Presley should depict Elvis as a young man or later in life. After over 1.2 million ballots, young Elvis won with 75% of the vote, and would become one of the most popular commemorative stamps of all time.
4XG8X TIL of Ralph Bunche, a Black American diplomat who: was the first Afr. American in the US to earn a PhD in PoliSci; worked for the OSS in WWII; helped design and create the UN; won the Nobel Peace Prize for ending the first Arab-Israeli war; 'invented' peacekeeping; and marched with Dr. King