Los Angeles native Mike Stilkey has always been attracted to painting and drawing not only on vintage paper, record covers and book pages, but on the books themselves. Using a mix of ink, colored pencil, paint and lacquer, Stilkey depicts a melancholic and at times a whimsical cast of characters inhabiting ambiguous spaces and narratives of fantasy and fairy tales. A lingering sense of loss and longing hints at emotional depth and draws the viewer into their introspective thrall with a mixture of capricious poetry, wit, and mystery. (Photo by Mike Stilkey)

Local villagers ride a local coal powered steam train on March 27, 2015 at a station in the town of Shixi , Sichuan Province, in Southern China. While China boasts the world's most extensive high-speed rail infrastructure with over 16,000 kilometers of track, the Shixi-Bagou railway is still a primary connection for local villagers between towns and is kept alive by tourist cars carrying passengers for ten times the price. The rail line came into service in the late 1950s and the train was initially used to transport coal from a now-shuttered mine before passenger carriages were added. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)

Most Russians intending to vote for Vladimir Putin in Sunday's election say stability is at the root of their faith in their candidate – though many young voters believe it's time for a change of leader. Putin, 65, is expected to win a fourth term in office with 69 percent of the vote, according to the latest survey by a state-run pollster. Reuters correspondents and photographers who travelled around the country talking to voters ahead of the March 18 election found nothing to contradict expectation of an emphatic Putin victory. (Photo by Anton Vaganov/Reuters)

Wim Delvoye is a notorious tattoo artist, who became famous when he started tattooing live pigs. He first began in 1997 and after animal rights activists found out about what he was doing, he had to move to China to continue his business. There is nothing special about the tattoos that Wim Delvoye creates, they look mediocre at best, and the only reason why he’s famous is his acts of animal cruelty. Nevertheless, Wim states that the pigs feel just fine and are well fed and taken care off. Full anesthesia is used to ensure that the pig doesn’t feel pain during the course of the whole procedure. During this time three tattoo artists work on the tattoo simultaneously to complete it as quickly as possible. Skins of those pigs are then sold for as much as £50k a piece.

“The Red River Hog (Potamochoerus porcus), also known as the Bush Pig (but not to be confused with P. larvatus, common name “Bushpig”), is a wild member of the pig family living in Africa, with most of its distribution in the Guinean and Congolian forests. It is rarely seen away from rainforests, and generally prefers areas near rivers or swamps.

Red River Hogs eat grass, berries, roots, insects, molluscs, small vertebrates and carrion. They are capable of causing damage to plantations. Red River Hogs typically live in herds of 6-20 members led by a dominant boar. Sows rear 3-6 piglets at a time.”

Photo: Two 17 day old red river hoglet twins forage for food next to their mother Bahiti at London Zoo on August 23, 2007 in London, England. Red River hoglets inhabit the forests and swamps of West and Central Africa. The recent additions to the London Zoo pig pen have been eagerly awaited by zoo keepers. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

“The titan arum or Amorphophallus titanum (from Ancient Greek amorphos, “without form, misshapen” + phallos, “phallus”, and titan, “giant”) is a flowering plant with the largest unbranched inflorescence in the world. The titan arum's inflorescence is not as large as that of the Talipot palm, Corypha umbraculifera, but the inflorescence of the Talipot palm is branched rather than unbranched”. – Wikipedia

Photo: Kew Gardens employee Lauren Bird Royal examines the flowering of the Titan Arum lily at the Botanical Gardens at Kew on September 30, 2005 in London, England. For the first time in horticultural history, the Titan Arum lily can be seen at all three active stages in its lifecycle – in flower, fruit and leaf.The flowering corm is nearly three metres tall and weighs 91kg and is very rarely seen outside of the rainforests of Sumatra, Indonesia. (Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images)

A sеx doll is seen on a bed at the doll brothel “Dollhaus” in Speyer, Germany, 10 December 2018. The “Dollhaus” is the first brothel with sеx dolls only in Germany. The “Dollhaus”, in Speyer, is the brainchild of businessman Raphael Abelmann who says his girls – including ladyboy versions – are the future of the sеx industry. (Photo by Ronald Wittek/EPA/EFE)

17 people were photographed by Reuters apparently casting ballots at more than one polling station Sunday during Russia’s presidential election in the town of Ust-Djeguta, southern Russia. Many appeared to be state employees, and some showed up in groups and in mini buses bearing the names of state-provided services. Voting twice is a misdemeanour under Russian law and those caught are heavily fined. But when shown these pictures, election commission member Leila Koichuyeva said: “They could be twins”. Here are a few. (Photo by Reuters/Staff)