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TIL that some people can voluntarily contract their tensor veli palatini—a muscle near the ear and throat—which opens the eustachian tube (normally closed), making a clicking sound (same as when you swallow or yawn) which equalizes the pressure in the middle ear. This is useful for freedivers.

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4Vkg TIL Historians have often credited Thomas Jefferson with introducing macaroni and cheese to the United States.
698DX TIL the Brown-headed Cowbird is North America’s most common “brood parasite,” laying eggs in the nests of over 140 host species
1a0kW TIL that, in Texas, the tradition of high school Homecoming includes enormous and flamboyant "mums", an arrangement of ribbons, buttons, charms, and other accouterments; sew into a wearable accessory.
XZa6 TIL that in 1985 Soviets ended a hostage crisis within 4 weeks by castrating & killing a relative of a Hezbollah leader then sending the severed organs. A reporter later said, “This is the way the Soviets operate. They do things - they don’t talk. And this is the language the Hezbollah understand.”
kJrYd TIL mussels, which you eat, start out life as parasites