11 Things We Didn't Know Last Week

News, discoveries and ... fun

1. For $50,000, the Dallas Zoo will sell you naming rights for a baby giraffe. (Learn more at CBS DFW)

2. More than $2 billion in lottery prizes went unclaimed in 2013. (Learn more at Yahoo! Finance)

3. Some male hummingbirds use their sharp, curved beaks to stab rivals' throats. (Learn more at University of Connecticut)

>>  Best Small Towns in America

4. Carlos Santana became a guitarist because his first instrument, the violin, sounded like an "alley cat" in his hands. (Learn more at AARP)

5. When women over 50 divorce, their  incomes drop 41 percent. (Learn more at AARP)

6. Your brain is hardwired to help one child in need, but balks at helping millions. (Learn more at NPR)

7. You'd have to eat at least 25 chocolate bars to experience the benefits of the memory-enhancing ingredient in chocolate. (Learn more at AARP)

Klaudia Steiner

8. Men shorter than 5 feet 6 inches have the greatest risk of dying from dementia. (Learn more at The Telegraph)

9. The world's best single malt whisky is from Japan, not Scotland, according to a top expert. (Learn more at Daily Mail)

>> Get travel discounts with your AARP Member Advantages.

10. Family caregivers in the U.S. provide more than $500 billion worth of free care. (Learn more at AARP)

11. Scratching an itch makes it worse. (Learn more at Futurity.org)

And here's your bonus video: Members of the Danish National Chamber Orchestra consume hot peppers in the middle of a performance (about 1:38 into the video), and you'll just have to watch the result:

 

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 — Baby Giraffe and Mom: Dallas Zoo via Twitter; Carlos Santana: Christie Goodwin/Getty Images; Refugee child: Flickr/Mustafa Khayat; Chocolate bars: iStock/Redhelga; Yamazaki Whisky: Courtesy of Suntory; Itchy foot: iStock/nebari.

Music – Tango Jalousie by Jacob Gade, performed by the Danish National Chamber Orchestra via YouTube and Alex Beroza: Spinnin' via ccMixter

Also of Interest

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• Join AARP: Savings, resources and news for your well-being

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