“Horst Faas (28 April 1933 – 10 May 2012) was a German photo-journalist and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner. He is best-known for his images of the Vietnam War”. – Wikipedia

Photo: A U.S. crewman runs from a crashed CH-21 Shawnee troop helicopter near the village of Ca Mau in the southern tip of South Vietnam, December 11, 1962. Two helicopters crashed without serious injuries during a government raid on the Viet Cong-infiltrated area. Both helicopters were destroyed to keep them out of enemy hands. (Photo by AP Photo/Horst Faas)

Rangoli, also known as kolam or Muggu, is a folk art from India in which patterns are created on the floor in living rooms or courtyards using materials such as colored rice, dry flour, colored sand or flower petals. It is usually made during Diwali, Onam, Pongal and other Indian festivals. They are meant to be sacred welcoming areas for the Hindu deities. The ancient symbols have been passed down through the ages, from each generation to the next, keeping both the art form and the tradition alive. Similar practices are followed in different Indian states: in Tamil Nadu, there is Kolam in Tamil Nadu; Mandana in Rajasthan; Chaookpurna in Chhattisgarh; Alpana in West Bengal; Aripana in Bihar; Chowk pujan in Uttar Pradesh; Muggu in Andhra Pradesh and others.

“The giant clam, Tridacna gigas (known as pā’ua in Cook Islands Māori), is the largest living bivalve mollusc. T. gigas is one of the most endangered clam species. It was mentioned as early as 1825 in scientific reports. One of a number of large clam species native to the shallow coral reefs of the South Pacific and Indian oceans, they can weigh more than 200 kilograms (440 lb) measure as much as 120 cm (47 in) across, and have an average lifespan in the wild of 100 years or more”. – Wikipedia

Photo: Tridacna Gigas, or Giant Clams spew water as a traditional fisherman passes by a small sanctuary on January 23, 2004 near Bolinao in the Northern Philippines. The clams, prime builders for coral reefs and providing shelter for spawning fish and other marine life, are exposed by low tides in the sanctuary. Overfishing and pollution throughout the country are not only threatening food security, but are also starting to choke one of the few working clam sanctuaries in the world. (Photo by David Greedy/Getty Images)

A vendor (C) cuts slaughtered dogs for sale at his roadside stall in Duong Noi village, outside Hanoi December 16, 2011. While animal rights activists have condemned eating dog meat as cruel treatment of the animals, it is still an accepted popular delicacy for some Vietnamese, as well in some other Asian countries. Duong Noi is well-known as a dog-meat village, where hundreds of dogs are killed each day for sale as popular traditional food. Dog-eating as a custom is rooted in Vietnam and was developed as a result of poverty. One kilogram of dog meat costs about 130,000 dongs ($6.2). (Photo by Reuters/Kham)

Six Flags New Orleans, also abbreviated to SFNO, is an abandoned theme park in New Orleans, Louisiana, that has been closed since just before Hurricane Katrina struck in August 2005 and is currently owned by the city of New Orleans. Six Flags had previously owned the park since March 2002, but after assessing the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina and the related exorbitant expenses of repairing the damage, sought to terminate their 75-year lease with the city, beginning in July 2006 and finally succeeding in September 2009. The park is located in Eastern New Orleans, in the Ninth Ward of the city, off Interstate 10. Despite various announced plans to redevelop the site, as of 2014, it is still an abandoned amusement park in extremely poor condition. It is a well-known urban exploration destination.

“The Daleks are a fictional extraterrestrial race of genetically manipulated mutants from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Various storylines portray them as having had every emotion removed except hate, leaving them with a desire to purge the Universe of all non-Dalek life. Collectively they are the greatest enemies of the series' protagonist, the Time Lord known as the Doctor. Their famous catchphrase is “Exterminate!”, with each syllable individually synthesised in a frantic electronic voice” – Wikipedia

Photo: Max Hardy, aged 6, stands by a street sign from the Doctor Who Experience as Dalek, from the cult television show Doctor Who watches him on April 16, 2011 in London, England. The Doctor Who Experience Exhibition is currently running at Kensington Olympia Two, celebrating the science fiction programme that was originally screened in 1963. (Photo by Matthew Lloyd/Getty Images for BBC Worldwide)

“Body blading (also known as buggy rollin') is an extreme sport that involves descending down a slope while wearing a flexible aerodynamic plastic roller suit that has wheels on the feet, knees, torso, and arms. This suit was created by Jean-Yves Blondeau, and he is one of the premier body bladers. Body blading is similar to roller blading, and in fact a body blader often starts out using the rollers on their feet in the same fashion as roller blades in order to gain initial speed, but then the rider generally assumes a position laying on the stomach facing down the hill. A body blader is capable of reaching very high speeds. Maneuverability is achieved by moving the body into various positions to change direction”. – Wikipedia

Photo: French designer Jean-Yves Blondeau demonstrates his “Buggy Rollin” suit during a performance on August 16, 2007 in Beijing, China. Blondeau is able to roll along in any position and can achieve high speeds wearing the suit. (Photo by China Photos/Getty Images)

“Rapa das Bestas is the name of an operation that involves cutting the manes of the horses that are performed in the curros (enclosed which retain the horses) held in various locations in Galicia (Spain).

The best known is the Rapa das Bestas of Sabucedo, in the city hall of A Estrada, which lasts three days: the First Saturday, Sunday and Monday in July. In fact, the name given to the celebration (Rapa das Bestas of Sabucedo), while in most places speaking about curros, including curros de Valga, etc”. – Wikipedia

Photo: A wild horse leaps up during the Rapa das Bestas (shearing of the beasts) festival on July 2, 2011 in Sabucedo, Spain. Hundreds of wild horses are rounded up from the mountains and trimmed and marked in the corral. (Photo by Denis Doyle/Getty Images)