Men stroll past roadside vendors as a painted truck makes its way through the busy street in Kabul, Afghanistan, November, 1961. (Photo by Henry S. Bradsher/AP Photo via The Atlantic)

Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south, and Thailand to the west. Its population was estimated to be around 6.5 million in 2012. A third (33%) of the country's population lives below the international poverty line which means living on less than U.S. $1.25 per day.

Russia's Maria Sharapova carries the torch during the opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, Friday, February 7, 2014. (Photo by Matt Dunham/Associated Press)

“John Constables's «The Hay Wein» meets «Bender» from «Futurama»”. (Photo and caption by Dave Pollot/Caters News)

A National Transitional Council (NTC) fighter fires an RPG during a street battle in the 700 complex area of “Emarat” against Muammar Gaddafi's troops on October 8, 2011 in Sirte, Libya. NTC fighters say this is the final assault on Muammar Gaddafi's home town as they capture the main hospital, University and the Ouagadougou conference centre in the city. (Photo by Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)

Settled snow is seen covering houses and Cecil Peak on New Zealand's lower South Island on November 4, 2011 in Queenstown, New Zealand. The unseasonal weather is not expected to clear until tomorrow, with snow continuing to fall. (Photo by Teaukura Moetaua/Getty Images)

Victorian stuffed animals created by taxidermist Walter Potter at Potter's Museum of Curiosity in Bolventor, Cornwall. Potter created tableaux based on nursery rhymes, among them, “The House That Jack Built”, “The Guinea Pigs Cricket Match”, and “The Death and Burial of Cock Robin”. (Photo by Graham French/BIPs/Getty Images). 5th April 1973

Workers attach 288 new Waterford Crystal Triangles on the 2012 Times Square New Year's Eve Ball at One Times Square on December 27, 2011 in New York City. (Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images)