In the 1940s and early 1950s high ranking Soviet politician Anastas Mikoyan was compelled to take a spare suit to state dinners. Why was this?

Answer: Noticing the care with which the well-dressed Mikoyan cared for his appearance, fellow Soviet Lavrentiy Beria began discreetly concealing rotten tomatoes in his well-cut suits. He would then torment Mikoyan by squashing them in the middle of the dinners, ruining his carefully maintained appearance.

Source: Stalin – The Court of the Red Tsar by Simon Sebag Montefiore; Modern World Encyclopaedia.

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