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11 Things We Didn't Know Last Week

News, discoveries and fun ...

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1. Humans may have evolved from pigs mating with chimps. (Learn more at Daily Mail)

2. Lists are perfect for the Web because they "tap into into our preferred way of receiving and organizing information at a subconscious level." (Learn more at The New Yorker)

3. Phytophthora, a water mold that causes the roots of Christmas trees to rot, is a national problem. ( NBC News)

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4. Scientists can train locusts to recognize odors. (Learn more at Washington University, St. Louis)

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5. Mice parachuted into Guam to kill snakes. (Learn more at NBC News)

6. A Georgia man uses his tongue to drive his wheelchair. (Learn more at USA Today)



7. Treating depression and insomnia at the same time doubles your chances of beating depression. (Learn more at AARP)

8. Octocopters may be delivering Amazon's packages within several years. (Learn more at CBS News)

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9. The town of Park Ridge, N.J., has a street dedicated to Sopranos star James Gandolfini. (Learn more at Rolling Stone)

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10. Burnt toast can cause cancer. (Learn more at AARP)

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11. Boomers' new fad: dinner parties to talk about death. (Learn more at AARP)

Bonus: The Kardashians have sent out their annual Christmas card. (Learn more at E! Online)



 

Learn something this week? Mail your ideas to  11things@aarp.org, and we'll try to include your story next time.

On Twitter, we're using the hashtag   #11things.

Let us read 11 Things to you:

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Images: Pig: The Pug Father/Flickr - Chimp: Meneer ZJeroen/Flickr; Christmas tree: Ellen Moran/istockphoto; Locust: IITA Image Library/Flickr; Amazon drone: YouTube/Amazon; Drone promo image: Amazon; James Gandolfini: Onur YILDIRIM/Flickr;  Toaster and toast: John Gollop/istockphoto

Music - Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra plays Jimmie Lunceford and his Orchestra - Blue Blazes by Sy Oliver, Creative Commons, courtesy of Smithsonian Remix project.


 

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