AARP Eye Center
11 Things We Didn't Know Last Week
By Steve Mencher, December 30, 2014 05:00 PM
News, discoveries and ... fun
![crow](https://aarp-content.brightspotcdn.com/92/15/e3d4fb8bf0a7625b4c32c949345b/crow.jpg)
1. When it comes to some tasks, crows are nearly as smart as humans. (Learn more at University of Iowa via Futurity)
2. Only 1 in 10 Americans eat nuts at least once a day, even though they're a powerful health food. (Learn more at AARP)
3. Game of Thrones was the most pirated TV show of 2014. (Learn more at Mashable)
![Emmy Nominees](https://aarp-content.brightspotcdn.com/6b/c8/d7ff81760bb78bc4e08490ddb773/n-game-of-thrones-on-set-large570.jpg)
4. Memories lost to Alzheimer's disease or post-traumatic stress disorder might be recoverable. (Learn more at Huffington Post)
5. 2014 was the worst year for auto recalls in U.S. history. (Learn more at Washington Post)
6. Mansplaining — when a man condescendingly "explains" something to a woman — is one of many words added this year to the Oxford English Dictionary, along with amazeballs and e-cig. (Learn more at NBC News)
![Vector silhouette of a couple.](https://aarp-content.brightspotcdn.com/08/61/37940a5eee743db67f5793cbf049/man-argue-woman53312414-thumbnail.jpg)
7. Scientists discovered 221 new species in 2014, including 110 ants, 16 beetles and the Entendeka round-eared sengi, or elephant shrew, of Namibia. (Learn more at California Academy of Sciences)
![New elephant shrew](https://aarp-content.brightspotcdn.com/11/5e/9dfbfcb6b3c66b143718ebfa7e08/micus-front-galen-rathbun.jpg)
>> Get travel discounts with your AARP Member Advantages.
8. For the past 20 years, a North Carolina town has lowered a live possum in a tinsel-covered box to celebrate the New Year. (Learn more at Time)
9. Insect-eating bats are a possible source of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. (Learn more at National Geographic)
10. Only five performers have won consecutive Oscars, beginning with a German-born actress who died this week at 104. (Learn more at BBC)
![Luise Rainer 1936](https://aarp-content.brightspotcdn.com/04/6e/aa1912347d369bb8e6aa87b47fcb/luise-rainer-1936.jpg)
11. If you can't stand on one foot for 20 seconds, you may be at risk for stroke or cognitive decline. (Learn more at AARP)
![Balance on one foot](https://aarp-content.brightspotcdn.com/4b/1c/217ddbce84ad72e18bcf97fa1eff/balance.jpg)
Bonus video: Here are the hits of 2014 played on household objects. DO try this at home.
Let us read 11 Things We Didn't Know Last Week to you:
[soundcloud url="https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/183791150" params="color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false" width="100%" height="166" iframe="true" /]
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 — Crow: Marko Kivela/Flickr; Game of Thrones: Courtesy of HBO; Man and woman arguing: Majivecka/iStock; Elephant shrew: Galen Rathbun/California Academy of Sciences; Possum drop: Charles "Stretch" Ledford via News Observer; Luise Rainer via Wikipedia; Man on one foot: AARP
Music – Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra plays Jimmie Lunceford and his Orchestra – Blue Blazes by Sy Oliver, Creative Commons, courtesy of Smithsonian Remix project. And Andrew Huang - 2014 hits via YouTube
![Staying Sharp: Keep Your Brain Healthy](https://aarp-content.brightspotcdn.com/d2/32/c7a64cdc324a7792a715801dd863/300x111-staying-sharp.jpg)
Also of Interest
- Christmas Dinner Swimming in the Bathtub and Other Things We Didn't Know About
- 2015 Personal Technology Gear Guide
- Get Involved: Learn How You Can Give Back
- Join AARP: Savings, resources and news for your well-being
See the AARP home page for deals, savings tips, trivia and more.