You might not think too much about the Secret Service. In fact, that’s kind of their whole point. They generally stay in the background, keeping an eye on things while remaining alert and ready to spring into action if it looks like anything bad is about to go down.

But if there is one thing people tend to notice about them, it’s that Secret Service agents always seem to be fidgeting with their earpieces, which can be somewhat indiscreet with their thick, curly wires that are more reminiscent of an old telephone cord than a state-of-the-art security measure.

Those wires, however, actually serve a pretty important purpose. They run underneath the agent’s shirt, connecting the earpiece to a microphone hidden on the Secret Service agent’s body. While the location of the microphone may vary, the most common location is underneath the shirtsleeve, which is why Secret Service agents can sometimes be seen touching their faces or whispering into their wrists, according to Slate.

Secret Service agents press their earpieces in order to hear better

Shutterstock