11 Things We Didn't Know Last Week

News, discoveries and ... fun

1. The world's richest 1 percent will likely control half of global wealth by next year. (Learn more at NY Times)

2. A cup of blueberries a day can help lower blood pressure. (Learn more at AARP)

3. Four in ten people report at least one incident of "sleep paralysis" — waking up and being unable to move. (Learn more at Discovery)

4. The golden orb-web spider can count. (Learn more at WIRED)

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5. Your tongue does not have specific areas that can be mapped to tastes — like "salty" or "bitter." (Learn more at National Geographic)

6. Up to 40 percent of people will hear voices at some point in their lives. (Learn more at Newsweek)

7. Orangutans can learn to make sounds like human speech. (Learn more at NPR)

8. There seems to be a sweet spot for healthy salt consumption — not too much, but not as little as doctors have suggested. (Learn more at AARP)

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9. Millennials will replace boomers as America's most populous generation this year. (Learn more at Time)

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10. Your Facebook "likes" can provide a key to your personality. (Learn more at NY Times)

11. Workers who put in a lot of overtime tend to drink more after work. (Learn more at Global.ca)

And here's our Bonus Video: You don't have to be a football fan to enjoy this Seattle man's extended selfie — he films himself as his beloved Seattle Seahawks come from behind to win a miraculous victory over the Green Bay Packers. The whole thing is so 2015.

 

Let us read  11 Things We Didn’t Know Last Week  to you:

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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.

Images – Davos, Switzerland: swisshippo/iStock; Blueberries: iStock/Artpritsadee; Golden orb-web spider: adam/Flickr; Tongue: AARP illus. inspired by National Geographic; Orangutan: paVan/Flickr; Salt: leventkonuk/iStock; Graduation selfie: PeopleImages/iStock.  

Music – DLDN Instrumental by timberman

Also of Interest

• Wearable 'Airbags' and Other Things We Didn't Know Last Week
• 3 Classic Cruise Ship Rip-Offs to Avoid
• AARP Foundation Tax-Aide: Get free help preparing and filing your taxes
• Join AARP: Savings, resources and news for your well-being

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