A pedestrian battles against gale force winds in Adelaide Street West next to the promenade in Blackpool on December 28, 2011 in Blackpool, England. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

A masked reveller poses along the flooded St. Mark's Square during a period of seasonal high water and on the first day of carnival, in Venice February 1, 2015. (Photo by Stefano Rellandini/Reuters)

Belgian chocolatier Dominique Persoone snorts cocoa powder off his Chocolate Shooter in his factory in Bruges, February 3, 2015. When Belgian chocolatier Dominique Persoone created a chocolate-sniffing device for a Rolling Stones party in 2007, he never imagined demand would stretch much beyond the rock 'n' roll scene. But, seven years later, he has sold 25,000 of them. Inspired by a device his grandfather used to propel tobacco snuff up his nose, Persoone created a “Chocolate Shooter” to deliver a hit of Dominican Republic or Peruvian cocoa powder, mixed with mint and either ginger or raspberry. (Photo by Francois Lenoir/Reuters)

A visitor takes a photograph from the North Star observation capsule onboard the cruise ship Quantum of the Seas which is currently docked at Southampton on October 31, 2014 in Southampton, England. Billed as the world's first smartship, Royal Caribbean's Quantum of the Seas is claimed to be the most high-tech cruise ship in the world, with high tech modifications such as virtual balconies in windowless rooms and features such as the first dodgem ride on water, and a skydiving simulator. The ship will shortly begin its voyage from Southampton, where it docked earlier this week, to New York before relocating to the Caribbean for the 2014-15 season. (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

Beautiful, strange and occasionally alarming pictures from the shortlist for this year’s Wellcome image awards – which celebrate the very best in science photography and imaging – from an x-ray of a bat to a micrograph of a kidney stone. The exhibition opens on 12 March at three science centres and the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester. Photo: Scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of an Arabidopsis thaliana flower, also commonly known as thale cress. Some of the anthers are open, revealing pollen grains ready for dispersal. Arabidopsis was the first plant to have its entire genome sequenced and is widely used as a model organism in molecular and plant biology. Horizontal width of image is 1200 microns. Magnification 100x. (Photo by Stefan Eberhard/Wellcome Images)

Pedestrians and traffic cross Tower Bridge as viewed through a glass viewing platform on the high-level Walkways during a preview to launch the new viewing experience at the Tower Bridge Exhibition centre in London on November 10, 2014. The new glass flooring at the Tower Bridge Exhibition 42 metres above the river Thames will allow visitors to gaze down on the bridge and river and allow them to experience the bridge opening from above. (Photo by Andrew Cowie/AFP Photo)

Extraordinary tales of everyday heroism have been illustrated beautifully by renowned US photographer Steve McCurry in the new 2015 Lavazza Calendar. The calendar which has been created in collaboration with the Slow Food movement, features twelve breathtaking pictures, capturing the spirit, strength and humanity of the Earth Defenders – women and men who protect their land and projects in Africa with passion and bravery. The proceeds from sales of the calendar and all donations will be contributed entirely to create 10,000 food gardens in African schools and villages by the end of 2016. (Photo by Steve McCurry/2015 Lavazza Calendar)