The internet offers an infinite array of content that can surprise, inspire, repulse, or even enlighten us about our own nature. With the growth of social media, strange trends and oddly satisfying videos are now easily accessible with just a click. From pimple popping to cyst extractions and earwax removals, there’s an abundance of content highlighting the bizarre and intriguingly repulsive abilities of the human body.

If you haven’t come across them, you’re in good company. Tonsil stones may not go viral like blackhead extraction videos, but they are equally fascinating (and maybe a bit less uncomfortable to watch). Upon discovering a video about tonsil stones recently, I felt compelled to explore further. Learning unusual facts about the human body is definitely one of my guilty pleasures.

Allow me to clarify this for you—because believe me, you’ll definitely want to understand what these issues are, how they develop, and why 3 million Americans face them annually.

Tonsil stones are characterized as hard white or yellow deposits that form in the crevices of your tonsils, according to the Mayo Clinic. What about crypts? Indeed, your tonsils contain small crevices and pockets that can trap materials such as food particles, dead cells, bacteria, and fungi. As time passes, these materials may solidify and calcify, resulting in the formation of small stones. Read more below