Jack, a Lurcher from Dogs Trust Salisbury, walks past a window display of models in a Dogs Trust shop window in Salisbury, as part of a campaign to discourage the impulse buying of dogs ahead of Valentine's Day, on February 10, 2014. (Photo by Matt Alexander/PA Wire)

Nine years ago, Tom Carter traveled from San Francisco to China, responding to a job posting that turned out to be a scam. He managed to find another job as a teacher, and saved enough money to embark on a 56,000 km trip through all of China's 33 provinces that lasted two years. Carrying a camera – just a a 4-megapixel point-and-shoot – Carter captured some amazing images of the widely varying landscape, people, and architecture across the nation. Photo: Buddhist pilgrim family from Sichuan. (Photo by Tom Carter via The Atlantic)

A long time exposure shows a Igloo at the “Igloo village” (Iglu Dorf) in front of the famous Matterhorn mountain in Zermatt, Switzerland, late 28 January 2016. The hotel-igloo village made of snow and ice at 2'815 meters about sea level with a bar, a restaurant, bedrooms and wellness are celebrating their 20th anniversary. For this occasion the hosts built the largest classic igloo with a diameter of 13 meters and a ceiling hight of 11 meters in front of Matterhorn in Zermatt, and they will attempt the world record for this Igloo. (Photo by Jean-Christophe Bott/EPA)

Tomomi Ota pushes a trolley loaded with her humanoid robot Pepper as she crosses a street in Omotesando shopping district in Tokyo, Japan, 24 March 2016. Telecommunications and mobile phone carrier SoftBank Corp. opened a robot-staffed store where 10 Pepper humanoid robots welcome customers looking to buy a mobile phone. The store will be opened until 30 March 2016. (Photo by Franck Robichon/EPA)

Blossoms and dust are blown by the wind as Jasmin Ricks, left, and her sister, Jessica Ricks, center, take in the cherry blossoms near the Tidal Basin in Washington on April 12, 2018. (Photo by Matt McClain/The Washington Post)

A cosplayer poses for a photograph during the Tokyo Rainbow Pride Parade on May 6, 2018 in Tokyo, Japan. The LGBT community and supporters marched down Shibuya and Harajuku areas on the final day of the Tokyo Rainbow Pride 2018 event. (Photo by Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty Images)

People attend the 49th annual New York City Gay Pride Parade in New York, New York, USA on 24 June 2018. (Photo by Erik Pendzich/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Italy is the latest country to boast a sеx doll brothel amid predictions the market for robot romps is “going to explode” world-wide. “LumiDolls”, which operates robot knocking shops in Barcelona and in Moscow is now opening a bot bonking branch in the Italian city of Turin on September 3, 2018. (Photo by Giulio Lapone/IPA/Rex Features/Shutterstock)