Water Wings Won the Cold War...

Well, not directly.  But apparently the wily Mao used water wings (amongst other things) to humiliate Khrushchev during his state visit to China in 1958.  The fallout from this meeting changed the course of the Cold War by making the Sino-Soviet split permanent:

The results of the talks were felt almost immediately. Khrushchev ordered the removal of the USSR’s advisers, overruling aghast colleagues who suggested that they at least be allowed to see out their contracts. In retaliation, on Khrushchev’s next visit to Beijing, in 1959, Taubman relates, there was “no honor guard, no Chinese speeches, not even a microphone for the speech that Khrushchev insisted on giving, complete with accolades for Eisenhower that were sure to rile Mao.”

Suppose, just suppose, Mao had been welcoming to Khushchev in 1958.  How would our world be different today?