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TIL: The tensor tympani muscle causes the loud rumbling noise you hear when you close your eyes very tightly.

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lo4JA TIL the Carrington Event was a coronal mass ejection that occurred on August 28, 1859, causing Aurorae for days as far south as Cuba and bright enough to read by, as well as disabling the telegraph systems of North America and Europe.
PLBL TIL chimpanzees deliberately seek out and eat fire ants, presumably to enjoy their venom in the same way we enjoy spicy food
Md50 TIL Reporter Geraldo Rivera was kicked out of Iraq after drawing a map in the sand giving details of US locations and future plans during a live broadcast.
ERlX TIL the name ‘Tank’ for armoured vehicles originated as a code word describing the vehicles as water carriers (or water tanks), to confuse enemy spies and keep their creation hidden. Water carries wasn’t used as this would have been abbreviated to W.C, another name for toilets.
VM1BB TIL the USSR had a televised song contest. Since few people had phones, viewers would turn their house lights on if they liked a certain song, off if they didn’t. The state energy company recorded the size of each power spike & reported results to the station to determine votes for each contestant.