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ON this date in 1971 - The American table tennis team arrived in China.
They were the first group of Americans officially allowed into China since the founding of the People's Republic in 1949.
The team had received the surprise invitation while in Japan for the 31st World Table Tennis Championship.
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Nixon was president; between 1960 and 1967, he earned paychecks from Pepsi-Cola, where he was "of Counsel" (or General Counsel?).
The first American company invited or allowed into China, was PepsiCo.
Rumors exist that Nixon flew out of Dallas the morning JFK died after flying in, and said he was "attending a PepsiCo meeting" ~ if memory serves, no such meeting took place on the day before: November 21, 1963.
Team members Bun Man, Mr. Purple, and Forrest Gump were hailed as 'Rock Stars' while in China, so much so that the Boyz and Forrest didn't want to leave.
The Team and the Boyz did finally depart after it was determined that the Chinese femmes were a little too communal.
Don't get me wrong, the Boyz didn't mind sharing, they just were hoping for a little more discretion.
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