11 Things We Didn't Know Last Week

News, discoveries and ... fun

1. Insects are a food source for one of every three people worldwide. (Learn more at Yahoo)

2. The debts and unpaid bills of more than a third of Americans have been reported to collection agencies. (Learn more at Urban Institute)

3. Handshakes share 20 times more germs than fist bumps. (Learn more at AARP)

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4. A new smartphone app simulates a retro camera by making you wait an hour to see your photos and disabling selfies. (Learn more at Time)

5. Actor Billy Bob Thornton wears girls' jeans. (Learn more at AARP)

6. Google searches can predict future stock market crashes. (Learn more at National Academy of Sciences)

7. A tiny part of your brain is always waiting for the worst to happen. (Learn more at Daily Mail)

8. President Obama had a crush on Linda Ronstadt. (Learn more at AARP)

9. Chinese women are wearing "facekini" masks at the beach to avoid sunburn, insects and scrutiny. (Learn more at Feature Shoot)

10. You can buy the World's Largest Ketchup Bottle (70 feet tall) for $500,000. (Learn more at St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

11. Londoners are so lonely that they're handing out "Talk to me" badges. (Learn more at Talk to me London.org)

 

Bonus Video:  Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett team up on a new album due in September. Here's a preview: Cole Porter's "Anything Goes."

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 - Edible grasshoppers: Meutia Chaerani/Indradi Soemardjan via Wikipedia; Dalai Lama fist bump: Flickr/Sirensongs; Billy Bob Thornton (cropped) Flickr/Charlie Llewellin; Barack Obama and Linda Ronstadt: MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images; Facekini: Photo by Peng Yangjun at Feature Shoot; Ketchup bottle: Flickr/Max Stahl; Talk to me London - courtesy of website.

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

• Destroyable Smash Cakes for Kids' Parties 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

 

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