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TIL the Ancient Roman Legions, rather than promoting men with orders from senior officers, held elections from within a Contubernium (equivalent to a squad or platoon) to elect a "Decanus," (roughly a corporal or sergeant, in charge of 10 men).

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X0PAE TIL The clarinet hit its peak in jazz during the Swing Era of the 30s and 40s but was replaced by the saxophone after the rise of bebop. Artists of the 40s and 50s considered the clarinet passé and unfashionable in jazz
E0x TIL While awaiting execution, Nikolai Bukharin wrote to Stalin, “Koba, why do you need me to die?”. ‘Koba’ was Stalin’s revolutionary pseudonym, and Bukharin’s use of it was a sign of how close the two had once been. The note was found still in Stalin’s desk after his death in 1953.
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