Taps turned off: Rob Greenfield, an American from San Diego, California, went a whole year without taking a shower. You would think he was a bit stinky, but he wasn’t. Using sources of water that don’t come out of a shower head, Greenfield washed in waterfalls, lakes, rivers and even collected water from leaky fire hydrants so he could bathe without turning on a water tap. Sometimes, he stood in the rain. He started the saga during a 100-day bicycle trip across the United States, but decided to continue the venture upon his return home to show that it’s not that hard to conserve water.

Meal-in-a-web: Scientists from Germany and Switzerland conducted a review of reports about spiders that trap and eat bats. Amazing as it may seem, (this does happen, although rarely), they uncovered only 52 individual reports. In the reported incidents, the victim is usually a young, small bat that gets caught in a web. Generally, the bat succumbs to exhaustion in its attempt to free itself from the web. Tropical regions had the most reported incidents of spiders trapping bats. Because there are so few reported cases, scientists think that bats do a pretty good job of avoiding webs by using echolocation.

Plant benefits: If you want to clean up the air inside your home, try adding a few plants to your décor. A study done at the University of Georgia (US) revealed that plants can improve indoor air quality by removing common household chemicals often found in the air. For example, the green spider plant gets rid of formaldehyde, which is emitted by such products as paper towels and particle board. The peace lily will clean the air of benzene, found in paint, plastic and rubber. To get rid of mold, try introducing English ivy and you may see an improvement in allergy symptoms.

High climb: For most people, rock climbing conjures up images of craggy mountainsides, ropes and spectacular views. However, there is a place in Switzerland where climbers get the ropes and the view, but not the mountainside. Instead, their climbing surface is the wall of a 540 ft. (165 metre)- high dam. Called Diga di Luzzone, this unique wall is set up for climbers and is thought to be the tallest vertical wall in the world that is used for climbing. Daredevil climbers must navigate five pitches which get progressively harder. It’s certainly not for novices! The dam is located in the Alps, hence the great view.