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.

Competitors prepare backstage before the 2015 Brazil Miss and Mister Fitness contest in Sao Paulo, Brazil, June 18, 2015. Some 96 men and women from all across the country competed in the event. (Photo by Paulo Whitaker/Reuters)

Burning Man 2013. The federal government issued a permit for 68,000 people from all over the world to gather at the sold out festival, which is celebrating its 27th year, to spend a week in the remote desert cut off from much of the outside world to experience art, music and the unique community that develops. (Photo by Neil Girling)

A skill like woodworking takes years and thousands of hours to become more than just a proficient at, but this man invested that time to be a certifiable master. His name is Randall Rosenthal and he has talent that can result in mind-bending illusions. The project in the gallery below all started with three pieces of white pine he glued together. What he turned that block of wood into is so cool.

If you’ve had the unique privilege of witnessing bioluminescent plankton while diving at night, you know firsthand how beautiful the underwater light show can be. For those of us who haven’t experienced it, this unique phenomenon. So what makes this beautiful show possible? In a recent post at online scuba site AquaViews they share some insight we thought you all would find interesting.