A security exercise takes place along the River Thames on January 19, 2012 in London, England. The exercise including around 44 police officers, 94 military personnel, 15 boats and a Royal Navy Lynx helicopter was conducted by both the Metropolitan Police and the Royal Marines and designed to test their joint capability ahead of the 2012 London Olympic Games. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

A student runs for cover as riot police clash with students during a demonstration on February 29, 2012 in Barcelona, Spain. Student associations have called upon 120,000 students to strike in protest against education cuts recently announced by the Catalan government. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

Ultra orthodox children stick their tongues out as snow falls on March 2, 2012 in Jerusalem, Israel. This is the first time in four years that the Israeli captial has experienced snow fall. (Photo by Uriel Sinai/Getty Images)

An Israeli missile is launched from the Iron Dome missile system in response to a rocket launch from the nearby Palestinian Gaza Strip, on March 12, 2012 near Ashdod, Israel. (Photo by Uriel Sinai/Getty Images)

People stand under a giant Czech flag as they arrive to light candles at the base of a statue of St. Wenceslas to commemorate the death of former Czech President Vaclav Havel on December 18, 2011 in Prague, Czech Republic. Havel, who led the Velvet Revolution that forced communist rule in Czechoslovakia to crumble in 1989, died in the early morning today in his sleep at the age of 75. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

Zappa, a toothless 15-year-old Italian greyhound that looks surprisingly like Sid the Sloth from the animated movie Ice Age, is redefining dog beauty. Owners Sadie and Rosalie Millen, of Pewaukee, Wisconsin, say that Zappa started sticking her tongue out a few years ago when she lost her teeth.

At the end of rice harvesting season, the folks of the Kagawa and Niigata Prefectures in Japan hold a straw festival to celebrate the abundance of the harvest. Dried straws cover wooden frames to form larger-than-life sculptures from animals like sharks and gorillas to vessels such as ships and tanks. The family-friendly event invites visitors of all ages to engage, interact, and play on the enormous structures.

Iranian artist and designer Mehdi Ghadyanloo, with the help of the municipality, is slowly brightening up the city of Tehran one wall at a time. The 33-year old street artist has been painting murals and walls in Tehran for the last 5 years age, during which he’s reported to have painted over one hundred walls.