Axel Erlandson (December 15, 1884 – April 28, 1964) was a Swedish American farmer who shaped trees as a hobby, and opened a horticultural attraction in 1947 advertised as "See the World's Strangest Trees Here," and named "The Tree Circus."
The trees appeared in the column of Robert Ripley's Believe It or Not! twelve times. Erlandson sold his attraction shortly before his death. The trees were moved to Gilroy Gardens in 1985.

A Shariah law official whips a woman who is convicted of prostitution during a public caning outside a mosque in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Friday, April 20, 2018. Indonesia's deeply conservative Aceh province on Friday caned several unmarried couples for showing affection in public and two women for prostitution before an enthusiastic audience of hundreds. The canings were possibly the last to be carried out before large crowds in Aceh after the province's governor announced earlier this month that the punishments would be moved indoors. (Photo by Heri Juanda/AP Photo)

Pregnant Tibetan antelopes move across the Qinghai-Tibet highway in Hoh Xil, northwest China's Qinghai Province, May 29, 2023. A growing number of pregnant Tibetan antelopes are migrating to the heart of northwest China's Hoh Xil National Nature Reserve to give birth, according to the reserve's management office. Every year, tens of thousands of pregnant Tibetan antelopes start their migration to Hoh Xil in around May to give birth and leave with their offspring in late July. (Photo by Xinhua News Agency/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Highland dancers compete at Inveraray Highland Games on July 19, 2022 in Inveraray, Scotland. The games are held in the grounds of Inveraray Castle celebrate Scottish culture and heritage with field and track events, piping, highland dancing competitions and heavy events including the world championships for tossing the caber. (Photo by Jeff J. Mitchell/Getty Images)

The ruins of a castle stand above the town of Rocca Calascio, close to Santo Stefano di Sessanio in the province of L'Aquila in Abruzzo, inside the national park of the Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga, Italy, September 7, 2016. (Photo by Siegfried Modola/Reuters)

Members of the Old Surrey Burstow and West Kent Hunt ride to Chiddingstone Castle for the annual Boxing Day hunt in Chiddingstone, south east England December 26, 2014. Since a ban stopped fox hunting with hounds, hunts continued with dogs chasing down a pre-laid scented trail instead of a fox. (Photo by Luke MacGregor/Reuters)

As you look at the set of pictures created by Tom Kondrat during his travels in Iceland, the first thing that comes to mind is the word “loneliness.” These pictures lead you to believe that Iceland is a desolate expanse of icy wasteland. You can almost imagine the strong wind howling in your ears, as it chills you straight to the bone. And as you’re walking down so beaten path, you’re all alone, with not a human soul for miles in any direction. This may prove unbearable for some, yet others find comfort in such places. With no one there to bother them and distract them from their thoughts, they can finally be at peace. (Photo by Tom Kondrat)