AARP Eye Center
Cronuts, Blobfish, Selfies. 11 Things We Didn't Know Last Year*
By Steve Mencher, December 23, 2013 04:59 PM
News, discoveries and fun
![blobfish](https://aarp-content.brightspotcdn.com/d2/90/fd9150cb6b22e013a5d1a5d07aea/blobfish.jpg)
1. The world's ugliest animal is ... the blobfish. (Learn more at CNN) (Sept. 18)
2. Cronuts go for $40 on New York's black market. (Learn more at AARP) (July 10)
![Cronut](https://aarp-content.brightspotcdn.com/32/26/acf728e1c8eaf49e29ec14702326/8750175877-2ffd82e532-b.jpg)
3. Snail slime might be the fountain of youth. (Learn more at AARP) (July 17)
![snailgetty](https://aarp-content.brightspotcdn.com/1a/28/8b43c08dfdfeb3893e35833242f8/snailgetty.jpg)
4. What some of the rock 'n' roll era's greatest stars might have looked like had they not died before their time. (Learn more at Sachs Media Group) (Nov. 20)
![Jimi Hendrix](https://aarp-content.brightspotcdn.com/80/89/dd13a799b706df5a91ea5035c885/jimi-hendrix.jpg)
5. Doing 1,200 sit-ups a day helps keep golfing great Gary Player, who's 78, more than fit. (Learn more at AARP) (July 17)
![Gary-Player-cover](https://aarp-content.brightspotcdn.com/b1/c5/01afd0b57e38d9b5295aef78633b/gary-player-cover.jpg)
6. At the Washington National Zoo, a newborn panda cub that will weigh more than 200 pounds as an adult tipped the scales at 4.8 ounces. (Learn more at USA Today) (Aug. 28)
![baby-panda-checkup_70713_600x450](https://aarp-content.brightspotcdn.com/b7/2b/0be18d9715f8f446545acdf7c253/baby-panda-checkup-70713-600x450.jpg)
7. " Selfie" is the 2013 word of the year. (Learn more at Yahoo News) (Nov 20)
![astronaut-selfportrait-nasa-comp](https://aarp-content.brightspotcdn.com/6b/06/6410d038a3e2a7428ede65ed7308/astronaut-selfportrait-nasa-comp.jpg)
8. Rinsing raw chicken doesn't get rid of bacteria; it just spreads the germs. (Learn more at AARP) (Sept. 4)
![raw-chicken-indiana-pubmedia](https://aarp-content.brightspotcdn.com/b4/65/5142015387c905e2f114872852af/raw-chicken-indiana-pubmedia.jpg)
9. There's a toilet-themed restaurant in Los Angeles. (Learn more at Huffington Post) (Oct. 23)
![Toilet-themed restaurants](https://aarp-content.brightspotcdn.com/f4/2c/33d0c65eaa769af07d82f4228280/3719702569-026ec6ddf8-b.jpg)
10. Two Swedish women have invented an inflatable bike helmet. (Learn more at Sports Illustrated) (Nov. 13)
![invisible-bik-helmet](https://aarp-content.brightspotcdn.com/aa/3a/06b5be02f15bba36056035ad9bc7/invisible-bik-helmet.jpg)
11. An Oxford University researcher who led a study of kissing is "still not exactly sure why it is so widespread or what purpose it serves. " (Learn more at Science Daily) (Oct. 16)
![kiss](https://aarp-content.brightspotcdn.com/72/00/5127e5be6f0f9580c6368dda3e52/4108437852-4f63168a0f-o.jpg)
* We started our 11 Things project in July - so we may have learned something in the first half of the year that's not included ...
Next week - a look at predictions for the year 2014.
And here's a video roundup for the year, including some of our favorite bonus videos.
We'd love to hear from you. Write to us at 11things@aarp.org. On Twitter, we're using the hashtag #11things.
Let us read 11 Things to you:
[soundcloud url="https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/126222698" params="color=0050ff&auto_play=false&show_artwork=true" width="100%" height="166" iframe="true" /]
Images: Blobfish: Kerryn Parkinson/Caters News/ZUMAPRESS.com; Cronut: Rachel Lovinger/Flickr; Snail facial: Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP/Getty Images; Jimi Hendrix: Rock & Roll Heaven/Sachs Media Group; Gary Player: Peter Hapak for ESPN The Magazine; Panda baby: Smithsonian National Zoo; Astronaut selfie/NASA; Chicken: Indiana Public Media/Flickr; Toilet restaurant (Taiwan): riNux/Wikimedia; Invisible bike helmet: Hövding; Kissing couple: shorty76/Flickr
Music: Air Force Band - Christmas Flash Mob at Smithsonian Air and Space Museum
Videos sampled for our video: Grudge Match/Warner Bros.; Japan launches the world's first 'snail facial'/The Telegraph; World's Weirdest Birds "Moonwalk" to Impress the Ladies/NatGeoWild; Dancing Zombie Squid Explained/Discovery; Soft baby goat love pile at Adamah Farm/Sarah Chandler;
>> Get travel discounts with your AARP Member Advantages.
Also of Interest
- End the Year With These Fabulous Freebies
- Slideshow: Ageless Celebrities in Their 60s
- Get free assistance with tax-return preparation from Tax-Aide
- Join AARP: Savings, resources and news for your well-being
See the AARP home page for deals, savings tips, trivia and more