AARP Eye Center
11 Things We Didn't Know Last Week
By Steve Mencher, August 20, 2014 05:15 PM
News, discoveries and ... fun
![cupcake](https://aarp-content.brightspotcdn.com/7c/90/1865132a51d6f8d736705d102578/2256460716-a533a5e4f5-o.jpg)
1. Bacteria in your gut - some crave sugar, others want fat - might be dictating what you eat. (Learn more at The Atlantic)
2. Having an office window can help you sleep at night, lower your blood pressure and keep you in a better mood. (Learn more at AARP)
![Deep thoughts](https://aarp-content.brightspotcdn.com/2c/ae/f30914624961bfb03077955a3a7d/istock-000021128585small.jpg)
3. $100 is worth $115.74 in Mississippi, but only $84.60 in Washington, D.C. (Learn more at Washington Post)
![Price-Parity-2012](https://aarp-content.brightspotcdn.com/83/d7/3e826fee9ac7a490f91b659225ad/price-parity-2012.png)
>> America's Best Small Towns
4. The complexity of a 4-year-old's drawings can predict intelligence a decade later. (Learn more at King's College London)
![Children's Drawings](https://aarp-content.brightspotcdn.com/bd/1a/9f9ec49de78bd1d348eec508e6da/children-drawing.jpg)
5. Yawning isn't your body's trick to send oxygen to the brain after all. (Learn more at the Wall Street Journal)
![African American woman in the morning.](https://aarp-content.brightspotcdn.com/13/a7/94872e7faa9a5ea2c2460579d000/istock-000038688374small.jpg)
6. Too much salt in your diet is bad, but too little salt might be just as bad. (Learn more at AARP)
>> Get travel discounts with your AARP Member Advantages.
7. The bigger the wedding, the better the marriage. (Learn more at National Marriage Project)
![Two women in church getting married, gay marriage](https://aarp-content.brightspotcdn.com/80/8e/46269caa3b839ac7a8bdaa401bb9/two-women-wedding.jpg)
![The Onion, Satire, Facebook](https://aarp-content.brightspotcdn.com/82/7a/ae99e2e5a242c407978f04d3411f/onion-area-fb-user.png)
10. A new kid's bike can grow with its rider. (Learn more at Gizmodo)
![Animated GIF of Doppelganger adjustable bicycle](https://aarp-content.brightspotcdn.com/d9/01/f29d71a72613d9de2c722199c153/bike.gif)
11. The best city for soccer moms (and dads) is Tacoma, Wash., thanks to high enthusiasm for the game and low prices for gas and snacks. (Learn more at NerdWallet)
![Best cities for soccer parents inforgraphic](https://aarp-content.brightspotcdn.com/4d/96/72ea4d4ef00dfabc67eedf10296d/soccer-bestcities-mom-dad.jpg)
Bonus video: After a few days of reflection, David Letterman has this tribute to his friend, Robin Williams:
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:
[soundcloud url="https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/164024072" params="color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false" width="100%" height="166" iframe="true" /]
Images: Cupcake: Flickr/Jillwillrun; Woman looking out window: iStock/Squaredpixels; Chart $100: Courtesy of Tax Foundation; Children's drawings: Twins Early Development Study, King's College London; Woman yawning: iStock/Skynesher; Women getting married: Flickr/D&K; The Onion: Screenshot; Bike: Courtesy of Doppelganger; Soccer chart: linked from NerdWallet
Music: Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra plays Jimmie Lunceford and His Orchestra - "Blue Blazes" by Sy Oliver, Creative Commons, courtesy of Smithsonian Remix project.
>> Next: This Week in Boomer History: Me Decade ... Ryan's 5K K's ... 'Prague Spring' Ends
Also of Interest
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- 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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