What's the connection?

I realise that some news stories are published because they offer entertainment.  But I just can't get over how this story about Mao Zedong's offer of 10 million women to Henry Kissinger is a popular story on CNN.com.  

As you can see, there's really nothing wrong with the style of the writing, it's clear and concise.  But it has absolutely no connection to current events or people today.  The story happened thirty-five years ago and isn't linked to any kind of current event.  Sure I think the story is interesting and funny.  But without any connection, it's just a bit of history trivia.