11 Things We Didn't Know Last Week

News, discoveries and ... fun.

1. You can make your own Mars Rover with NASA's $189 littleBits Space Kit. (Learn more at littleBits)

2. It looks like George Clooney will lose bets with Nicole Kidman and Michelle Pfeiffer - he's engaged to marry a second time. (Learn more at  AARP)

3. Your dollar bill might carry bacteria linked to stomach ulcers, acne, pneumonia and staph infections. (Learn more at AARP)

4. Atari once buried as many as 750,000 'E.T.' game cartridges in a New Mexico landfill. (Learn more at CNN)

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5. If you want to stay healthy, it's a good idea to marry an optimist. (Learn more at Futurity)

6. When she was young, Meryl Streep thought she was too ugly to be an actress. (Learn more at AARP)

7. Boeing has patented a smart, self-driving cart to carry passengers through airport terminals and deliver them to their departure gate. (Learn more at Skift)

8. Art that Andy Warhol created on a Commodore Amiga home computer resurfaced after 30 years. (Learn more at  The Verge)

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9. Some people can see or hear the taste of spices. (Learn more at  Singularity Hub)

10. Exercising twice a week could be the key to younger-looking skin. (Learn more at AARP)

11. Brazil is breeding suicidal mosquitoes in advance of the World Cup this summer. (Learn more at engadget)

Bonus video:
In advance of Mother's Day, filmmaker Joshua Seftel talks with his mother about movies starring notable moms:

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 - Mars rover: littleBits Space Kit/NASA; George Clooney: Csztova/Flickr; Dirty money: RapidEye/iStockphoto; Atari cartridges: taylorhatmaker/Flickr; Happy couple: Douglove/iStockphoto; Meryl Streep: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP; Boeing cart: courtesy of Boeing; Andy Warhol, Venus, 1985, ©The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc.; Sound of Taste poster: courtesy of Novalia/Schwartz spices/Grey London; Man exercising: digitalskillet/iStockphoto 

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

• Earth's Cousin, Sleeping Positions and Other Things We Didn't Know Last Week
• Should I Take My Social Security Benefits at 62?
• Fight fraud and ID theft with the AARP Fraud Watch Network.
• Join AARP: Savings, resources and news for your well-being

 

See the  AARP home page for deals, savings tips, trivia and more