11 Things We Didn't Know Last Week

News, discoveries and ... fun

1. Hippos and whales are cousins. (Learn more at Discovery)

2. In a British variety of soccer, players walk rather than run. (Learn more at The Blaze)

3. New evidence shows that feeding peanuts to babies might help them beat peanut allergies. (Learn more at USA Today)

4. A new mind-controlled bionic hand works almost as well as a flesh-and-blood transplant. (Learn more at Discovery)

5. Godzilla fans will have a new Tokyo hotel to visit. (Learn more at The Verge)

6. In 1966, Buzz Aldrin took the first space selfie. (Learn more at Washington Post)

 

7. Eyelashes divert air to keep eyes from drying out. (Learn more at NY Times)

8. Your ears might have an "early warning system" to protect against sounds that are loud enough to damage hearing. (Learn more at AARP)

>> Get discounts on electronics with your AARP Member Advantages.

9. Centuries after the bubonic plague, scientists blame gerbils, not rats. (Learn more at NPR)

10. Couples in a recent survey reported a rebound in sex after their 50th anniversary. (Learn more at Huffington Post)

11. A mummy sits inside a 1,000-year-old Buddha statue. (Learn more at Livescience)

Bonus Video: If you love House of Cards (new season available Feb. 27) and Sesame Street, here's the mash-up you've been waiting for.

Let us read 11 Things to you:

[soundcloud url="https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/193035250" 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 – Hippo: Andrew Moore/Flickr; Bionic hand: AP via Huffington Post (embed); Happy peanuts: jamtoons/iStock; Godzilla Tokyo hotel: Courtesy Hotel Gracery; Astronaut selfie: NASA; Eyelashes: Jason Pier/Flickr; Girl holding ears: Saturated/iStock; Gerbil: Jereboen/Flickr; Dancing couple: iStock/aldo murillo; Buddha statue: Credit: ©Ben Heggelman (Meander Medical Centre, Amersfoort) / Universityhospital Mannheim.

 

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

• Dr. Seuss' New Book and Other Things We Didn't Know Last Week
• Meditation Rivals Medication for Depression
• 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.