11 Things We Didn't Know Last Week

News, discoveries and ... fun

AP

1. At Kennedy Elementary School in Dubuque, Iowa, the oldest member of the band is 79. (Learn more at Twincities.com)

2. Your brain is over the hill at age 24. (Learn more at  AARP)

3. Johnny Cash can still have a No. 1 album 11 years after he died. (Learn more at AARP)

4. A new app adjusts your body rhythm to beat jet lag. (Learn more at  Newsweek)

Lauren Powell-Smothers

5. Scientists say they've  manufactured blood for people. (Learn more at  Gizmodo)

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6. There's a second huge hole in the Earth's atmosphere. (Learn more at Climate Central)

7. A South African restaurant provides a portable studio for diners who want to photograph their meals for display on social media. (Learn more at Designtaxi)

8. Leon Russell once played piano for Doris Day. (Learn  more at AARP)

9. NASA is sending a mini-farm  - about 1.5 feet long - into space so astronauts can grow  and eat fresh vegetables there. ( Space.com)

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10. A tiny generator turns body heat into electricity to power smart watches, high-tech glasses and other wearable devices. (Learn more at Engadget)

11. Men get happier at age 50, but begin turning " grumpy" at 70, according to one study. (Learn more at Daily Mail)

Bonus video: Two Dutch women, both 70-something, take their first airplane rides, courtesy of the phone giant Vodaphone:

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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Credits - Flute player Tony Boland in Dubuque, Iowa: TH Media/Jessica Reilly; video game guy: Aftershow/Flickr; Johnny Cash album: Sony; yawning woman: Lauren Powell-Smothers/Flickr; #dinnercam: courtesy of MWEB South Africa; Leon Russell: Carl Lender/Flickr; NASA's "veggie" farm: NASA/Carla Cioffi; body heat power generator: the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST); grumpy Italian men: David Boardman/Flickr.


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

Also of Interest

• Archie Comics' Shocking Death and Other Things We Didn't Know Last Week
• 7 Things You Should Never Say to Customer Service
• Fight fraud and ID theft with the AARP Fraud Watch Network.
• Join AARP: Savings, resources and news for your well-being

 

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