Washing machine in a backpack

For backpackers and campers long trips can mean a lot of dirty laundry and many trips to public laundromats. Australian climber, Ash Newland created an amazing invention known as the Scrubba Wash Pack.

Both a backpack and a portable washing machine, needs no electricity and little water. The bag needs a little storage space and is easy to transport.

How does it work? Dirty clothes are placed in the bag along with 2-3 litres of water and a few splashes of detergent. The bag is then shut tightly so all the air is squeezed out while the user squeezes the clothes for a few minutes before rinsing. Thereafter simply hang the clothes up to dry!

Extinct

The Judean date palm tree was one of the most recognisable trees in the Middle East, loved for the sweet fruit and cool shade it provided. As a valuable plant to those of the Kingdom of Judea, they were targeted by the Roman Empire when the kingdom was invaded. The tree became extinct around 500 AD until now!

Archaeologists found a pile of seeds inside the site of Herod the Great's Palace in Israel in the 1960s. The seeds were found in a clay jar dating back 2,000 years. Until 2005 the seeds were kept at Tel Aviv's Bar-Ilan University until one was planted to see if anything would grow. It became the oldest known tree seed to sprout.

Flying solo

When Nigel Short boarded an international flight from Johannesburg, South Africa to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe he was surprised to find that he was the only passenger! Earlier, Nigel was told that he couldn't be late for the flight because there would only be four passengers flying. When the Air Zimbabwe flight crew arrived and no other passengers boarded they announced that Nigel would be flying alone.

Despite having the whole plane to himself, Nigel did not choose to move to first class but did shift to a window seat. He made it to the Victoria Falls, the world's widest waterfall and one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Nigel says the Falls were great but the flight experience turned into the biggest story of his trip!