In about 200 AD a famous Greek astronomer named Claudius Ptolemy believed that the earth had to be balanced or it would topple over. He figured that there had to be a land yet unknown to Europeans somewhere below the Indian Ocean. Over time this yet to be discovered land came to be known as Terra Australis Incognito that means the Unknown Southern Land.

NASA has recently published a map of the world showing the frequency of lightening around the world. They found that The Congo has 50 lightening strikes a year for each square kilometre of land, compared to two per square km in the UK. Antarctica and Egypt hardly have any lightening strikes at all.

Researchers studying the spotted hyena in Tanzania have discovered that they are the only wild animal to be able to carry the rabies virus but not display any of the symptoms. So stop worrying about those hyenas biting!

Under 24? A member of Globetrotters Club? Interested in a £1,000 travel award?

Know someone who is? We have £1,000 to award each year for five years for the best submitted independent travel plan. Interested?

Then see our legacy page on our Website, where you can apply with your plans for a totally independent travel trip and we’ll take a look at it. Get those plans in!!